Japan 'locked' in its historical amnesia: China Daily editorial

It has been a consistent ploy of the Japanese government to make false charges against China in a bid to amplify its fabricated narrative of a "China threat".

It is a trick that Tokyo played again on Sunday, accusing Chinese military aircraft of locking their fire-control radar on Japanese fighter jets during a routine Chinese military exercise in the open sea southeast of Japan's Okinawa Island. Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi even held an emergency news conference to announce that Japan had lodged a strong protest with China, calling it "an extremely regrettable" and "dangerous" act.

But like a thief who cries "stop the thief", that was just a charade.

As Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesman for China's Ministry of National Defense, stressed on Sunday, it was the Japanese side that "maliciously followed and harassed" China's Liaoning aircraft carrier task group, which, in full compliance with international law and international practice, was conducting far-sea training in waters east of the Miyako Strait.

Rather than the Chinese side "exceeded the scope necessary for safe aircraft operations", it was the Japanese side that was guilty of that, because it was the Japanese aircraft intruding into the exercise and training zones that China had demarcated and announced in advance that seriously endangered flight safety.

As Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said on Monday in response to related questions, it should be clear to everyone that Japan's deliberate dissemination and manipulation of false information in the military security field, and its attempts to escalate tensions, are "entirely malicious". Being the guilty party, the Japanese side is complaining first in a bid to distract attention from itself.

It should be borne in mind that Japan's allegations come as relations between China and Japan have sharply deteriorated following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's erroneous and dangerous remarks on Nov 7 suggesting that Japan would intervene militarily in the Taiwan Strait situation.

The Japanese side's latest I-am-the-victim claims should therefore be viewed through the prism of the broader context of its recent political rhetoric and accelerated remilitarization.

By hyping up a nonexistent "threat" from China with its baseless fabrication aimed at distorting China's legitimate national defense policy, Japan seeks to justify its rapid military buildup and increased defense spending and mislead the international community about the source of instability in the region. This tactic is reminiscent of historical patterns where Japan also exaggerated external threats to justify its military expansion.

Japan's recent actions speak for themselves. It has deployed medium-range surface-to-air missiles on an island just 110 kilometers east of China's Taiwan island, and is considering the export of a medium-range surface-to-air missile system to the Philippines.

Japan hopes to rally support from its allies to bolster its strategic position in the Asia-Pacific region. Such a strategy is dangerous, as it can lead to an arms race and heightened tensions in a region already fraught with complex geopolitical dynamics.

The international community, especially other countries in the region, must remain alert to these developments and not allow Tokyo free rein to break free of the postwar restrictions on Japan's remilitarization.

No matter what tricks the Japanese government seeks to play to hype up the "China threat" and pave the way for its surging military ambition in the region, its attempts to challenge the post-World War II international order and pursue remilitarization will ultimately fail because they run counter to the overall global trend of peace.

China has repeatedly emphasized its commitment to maintaining peace and stability in the region. The international community must be on its guard and not be fooled by the lies told by Tokyo.