By Zhong Sheng

Japanese media recently disclosed the content of the first draft of the Annual White Paper under the Sanae Takaichi administration. The draft vigorously hypes up the so-called "security challenges" brought by China's national development and distorts China's normal activities in the Pacific Ocean as "security threats." Hyping up "surrounding threats" is a time-worn trick of Japanese militarism. This old rhetoric once again clearly exposes the true intention of Japan's right-wing forces to accelerate military expansion and push for a comprehensive shift in security policies.

The draft uses expressions such as "security threat," "vigilance," and "deep concern" to continue fabricating the false narrative of the so-called "China threat" theory. China's limited national defense spending is entirely necessary to safeguard its national sovereignty, security, and development interests, as well as to maintain world peace. By deliberately portraying a country that has adhered to a path of peaceful development as a "security threat," Japan not only contradicts objective facts but also runs counter to the mainstream aspiration of Asia-Pacific countries to seek peace, pursue cooperation, and promote development.

Looking back, since the 1960s, every time Japan increases its defense budget, breaks through the "exclusively defense-oriented" principle, or distorts the connotation of the Pacifist Constitution, it has used the hyping of "surrounding threats" as a pretext. Repeating the same old trick today, it aims to fabricate "legitimate reasons" for constitutional revision and military expansion and to completely break free from post-war constraints. Its ambition to seek military unshackling is abundantly clear. In recent years, under the pretext of building so-called "counterstrike capabilities," Japan has deployed a large number of offensive weapons far exceeding self-defense needs. It has long stored large quantities of sensitive nuclear materials, attempting to challenge the red line of the Three Non-Nuclear Principles and undermine the global nuclear non-proliferation framework. It has continuously expanded military spending and relaxed restrictions on the export of lethal weapons. It has also frequently participated in overseas joint military exercises and stepped up the building of cyber and intelligence warfare capabilities. All these acts have led Japan step by step down the wrong path of "neo-militarism."

Japan's continuous military expansion moves are exerting multiple impacts on the security landscape of Northeast Asia and even the entire Asia-Pacific region. At the plenary session of the Shangri-La Dialogue, Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi advocated a new version of the "free and open Indo-Pacific" initiative, stating that Japan will further strengthen its defense capabilities, enhance cooperation with regional countries under security mechanisms, and assume a "new role" in regional defense equipment and technology cooperation. As a country that has never thoroughly liquidated its militarist past, Japan's continuous expansion of offensive military capabilities will inevitably put neighboring countries on high alert and exacerbate their security concerns. More alarming is that Japan's active and deep integration into cross-regional military alliances, which deliberately creates bloc confrontation and fragments the regional cooperation framework, poses a severe threat to the security and stability of the Asia-Pacific region.

For a long time, an important reason why the Asia-Pacific has become the world's most dynamic economic belt is that regional countries have generally adhered to promoting development and security through cooperation. Against the backdrop of a complex and volatile international situation, regional countries need more than ever to uphold the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security, enhance mutual trust through dialogue and consultation, and maintain stability through mutually beneficial cooperation, rather than deliberately creating tension and confrontation. For Japan, the choice that truly serves its own and the region's long-term interests is to draw profound lessons from the painful history of militarist aggression and expansion, face up to and properly handle historical issues, and win the trust of its Asian neighbors and the international community with concrete actions. Only in this way can Japan truly embark on a development path that conforms to its own and the region's long-term interests.

Editor's note: Originally published on people.com.cn, 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.