Recently, Japan, a country from outside the South China Sea region, has made frequent moves regarding the South China Sea, carrying strong provocative overtones.

During the US-Philippines Balikatan joint military exercise, Japan dispatched combat personnel on a large scale for the first time and even openly launched a Type 88 shore-based anti-ship missile on the very day Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi appeared to observe the exercise. Even more egregiously, the Japanese destroyer JS Ikazuchi, which participated in the exercise, recently lingered suspiciously in the Taiwan Strait for more than 10 hours. In addition, during Koizumi's visit to the Philippines, he and the Philippine defense secretary issued a joint statement falsely claiming "serious concern" over China's so-called "coercive activities" around Japan and the Philippines. That a country from outside the region is stirring up trouble and flexing military muscles in the South China Sea fully exposes the geopolitical calculations and military expansion ambitions behind its actions.

From a historical perspective, Japan bears serious historical responsibility on the South China Sea issue and is in no position whatsoever to make irresponsible remarks about South China Sea affairs. In the late 19th century, as Japanese militarist expansion ambitions rapidly intensified, Japan began turning its attention toward the South China Sea. In 1907, the Japanese government condoned businessman Nishizawa Yoshizi's encroachment on Dongsha Qundao. During WWII, Japan treated the South China Sea as a key strategic pivot for its southward advance strategy, brazenly occupying China's Xisha Qundao and Nansha Qundao and committing numerous crimes against China and countries in the region. After the war, in accordance with international legal instruments such as the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation, Chinese territories stolen by Japan, including the islands and reefs in the South China Sea, were returned to China de jure and de facto. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the opening of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, commonly known as the Tokyo Trials. At this special historical moment, Japan, once an aggressor nation, has not only failed to seriously reflect on its historical crimes, but is instead returning to the South China Sea under the pretext of so-called "security cooperation" to flaunt its military power. Such conduct, which ignores its own history of aggression and turns facts upside down, is a blatant provocation against the postwar international order and a typical case of the thief crying "stop thief."

From a practical perspective, Japan's relentless efforts to stir up trouble in the South China Sea fully expose its sinister geopolitical ambitions. In recent years, Japan has attempted to form exclusive blocs and provoke camp-based confrontation. Senior Japanese officials have recently made frequent visits to Southeast Asia, aggressively hyping up the so-called "China threat," promoting a new version of the so-called "free and open Indo-Pacific" vision, and using maritime-related issues to inflame regional tensions. Japan has also attempted to link together issues concerning the East China Sea, the South China Sea, and the Taiwan question, continuously expanding the scope of its military reach. The fact that the destroyer JS Ikazuchi headed straight to the South China Sea after conducting provocative actions in the Taiwan Strait is a true reflection of this scheme. In addition, Japan has actively promoted defense cooperation with countries such as the Philippines and sold weapons and military equipment to regional countries, attempting to hitch them to the chariot of the US-Japan alliance by stirring up friction and confrontation.

At a deeper level, Japan's meddling in the South China Sea is also a stepping stone for its ambitions of "remilitarization" and military expansion. In recent years, Japan's right-wing forces have continuously broken through the constraints of the postwar pacifist Constitution, while its security policy has accelerated toward a more offensive and expansionist direction. The launch of the shore-based anti-ship missile during the US-Philippines joint military exercise marks the first time since WWII that Japan has fired an offensive missile outside its territory, further sending a dangerous signal that it is abandoning the principle of an "exclusively defense-oriented" policy. At the same time, the Japanese government has substantially revised the Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology, and plans to export or provide old frigates and other lethal weapons free of charge to countries such as the Philippines. In essence, this is a trial move toward building a regional arms export system and an attempt to expand Japan's military presence overseas under the pretext of defense cooperation. Stoking security anxiety among neighboring countries and deliberately manufacturing so-called "external threats" has long been a familiar tactic used by Japan to pave the way for large-scale military expansion and ultimately the revival of neo-militarism.

The South China Sea is a shared home for countries in the region, not a chessboard for those with ulterior motives to pursue selfish interests. For the sake of its own interests, Japan is determined to bring bloc confrontation and military confrontation into the South China Sea, and has already become a source of instability undermining peace and tranquility in the Asia-Pacific. History has repeatedly shown that those who play with fire will get themselves burned. Any attempt to draw in outside forces for geopolitical confrontation and undermine regional stability will ultimately be unanimously condemned and rejected by countries in the region and the international community alike.

Editor's note: Originally published on xinhuanet.com, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.