China has voiced its firm opposition to Japan"s annual defense white paper, saying it deliberately plays up the so-called "China military threat." More details from CRI"s Qi Zhi.
The paper was approved after a previous draft was rejected for not taking a strong enough line on China. Jiang Feng, chief editor of the Tokyo-based Japan New-Generation Overseas Chinese Newspaper, explains the differences. "The Japanese government specifically mentioned that it had repeatedly protested against China"s activities in the East China Sea and asked China to stop such activities. In this year"s defense white paper, Japan is no longer stating the facts concerning the East China Sea issue, it"s actually issuing a warning to China." The white paper says Japan faces an increasingly severe security environment, highlighting China"s supposed military build-up, and activities by China in the East China Sea and South China Sea. It also criticizes China"s increased military spending, saying it is now 41 times higher than what it was in fiscal 1989. In response, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang has criticized Japan for ignoring facts and making irresponsible remarks on China"s normal military growth and maritime activities. He says the white paper deliberately plays up the "China threat" and stirs up tensions. On China"s maritime activities, Lu Kang stresses that they are fully within China"s sovereignty and beyond reproach. He has also accused Japan of deliberately intervening in the South China Sea issue and playing up regional tensions. Meanwhile, China"s Defense Ministry has also expressed strong dissatisfaction over Japan"s new defense report. The Ministry stresses that modernizing national defense and the country"s armed forces is China"s legitimate right as a sovereign state. Jiang Feng says he believes playing up the China military threat will not deter the development of China"s armed forces. "Japan"s annual defense white paper tends to portray the changes in China"s military, which actually reflect the achievements in China"s military development, achievements that Japan find it hard to accept. However, China will surely not abandon its efforts to build up the military simply because it"s hard for Japan to accept." In the annual defense white paper, Japan has also renewed its claim to a pair of disputed islets that are called as Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan. The South Korean Foreign Ministry has denounced the paper and summoned a Japanese diplomat stationed in Seoul to file a protest. Ministry spokesman Noh Kwang-il is urging Japan to respect history. "The Japanese government adding an absurd assertion again in its 2015 Defense White Paper released today is an act denying past Japanese imperialism invading the Korean Peninsula. Such action is no better than notification to the international community that Japan is still not correctly understanding its own history, even though we have reached the 70th anniversary of the ceasefire." Analysts believe that by playing up perceived threats, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe"s administration provides excuses for formulating a more aggressive new national defense policy, by remolding its Self-Defense Forces and for amending its post-war pacifist constitution. For CRI, I"m Qi Zhi. |
