By Zhong Sheng
Japan recently smeared China's legal measures to strengthen export control over dual-use items for safeguarding national security as "economic coercion." Such a distortion of facts exposes Japan's stubborn stance of refusing to reflect on its own mistakes and persisting on a dangerous path. China's measures have clear and legitimate reasons, well known to Japan. The attempts of Japan to shift blame cannot alter the international community's widespread concern over Japan straying from the path of peaceful development and reviving militarism.
Implementing export controls on dual-use items is a common international practice. It reflects a shared responsibility to maintain international peace and security and is a necessary step to fulfill international non-proliferation obligations. As a responsible major country, China has placed relevant items under regulation in accordance with law, which reflects its consistent commitment to safeguarding world peace and regional stability. Japan has distorted this lawful and legitimate exercise of sovereignty as coercion, revealing its clear intention to divert international attention and conceal its continuous damage to the international order and regional peace.
Japan's new militarism is no longer a mere warning sign but a real threat, which must arouse high vigilance among all peace-loving and justice-upholding forces in the international community. Japanese leaders have made erroneous remarks on the Taiwan question, openly issued threats of force against China, and rudely interfered in China's internal affairs, seriously violating international law and basic norms governing international relations. It is vile in nature and has an egregious impact. Japan's right-wing forces are intensifying their challenges to the postwar international order, undermining regional peace and stability, and endangering world peace and security.
According to Japanese media reports, Japan has recently claimed that it will promote revisions to the three national security documents within the year, reflecting its accelerated push toward remilitarization. What is truly alarming is Japan's ambition to acquire nuclear weapons. For some time, the Japanese side has continuously pushed for revisions to the Three Non-Nuclear Principles, with some politicians repeatedly making pro-nuclear remarks in public. This not only constitutes a serious challenge to the international nuclear non-proliferation regime, but also represents a complete departure from Japan's self-proclaimed commitment to the path of peaceful development. It has triggered strong opposition and condemnation from the international community.
Curbing the resurgence of Japan's new militarism is an urgent task for safeguarding regional peace and stability. The measures adopted by China, in strict accordance with laws and regulations, to prohibit the export of all dual-use items for Japanese military users, Japanese military uses, and any other end users and uses that could contribute to enhancing Japan's military capabilities, constitute legitimate and necessary actions to safeguard peace and security.
Japan's hype about so-called Chinese economic coercion is merely another carefully staged performance of a victim narrative. Safeguarding regional peace and stability requires exposing and dismantling such insidious rhetoric. What truly constitutes coercion to regional peace and security is Japan's constantly expanding ambition for military expansion. By labeling neighboring countries' actions as inconsistent with international practice, Japan attempts to smear others and confuse public opinion. Yet it is Japan itself that has repeatedly violated its obligations under international law. Even from the perspective of Japan's own domestic development, the real "threat" or "coercion" stems from the Japanese right wing's obsession with a new form of militarism.
According to calculations by Japanese media, the supplementary budget approved by the Japanese government for fiscal year 2025 has pushed total defense spending for that year to approximately 11 trillion yen, equivalent to a per capita burden of about 90,000 yen for each Japanese citizen. The media pointed out that Japan's military buildup and expansion not only threaten regional peace but also undermine the national economy and people's livelihoods. Rather than making groundless accusations against other countries, Japan should seriously respond to the deep concerns of the international community and its own people over its return to the path of militarism.
Ironically, while Japan claims that dialogue is necessary to resolve issues between Japan and China, it continues to provoke China on matters involving core interests and major principles. This contradiction between words and deeds is steadily eroding Japan's national credibility. The international community, especially regional countries, has long seen through Japan's hypocrisy and will never allow its new form of militarism to undermine the hard-won peace and stability of the region.
Editor's note: Originally published on People's Daily, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People's Daily to express its views on foreign policy and international affairs.