Missile deployment further proof that Japan poses real threat to regional peace: China Daily editorial

In a troubling shift in its defense strategy, Japan advanced its offensive capabilities by deploying the first batch of domestically produced long-range missiles in the southwestern prefecture of Kumamoto on Monday. Deployment of the upgraded Type-12 land-to-ship missiles is expected to be completed by the end of March, basically marking an end to Japan's defensive stance under Article 9 of its Constitution.

The move has been in preparation for a long time, at least since Japan formulated its second National Security Strategy in 2022. The missiles, with a range of about 1,000 kilometers, bring the Chinese mainland and much of the East China Sea within striking distance.

Japan claims the move is "a necessary response to rising regional tensions". But this reasoning rings hollow. It is only an excuse for Tokyo to push for the resurgence of Japanese militarism, which is the real threat to regional peace and stability.

As Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a news conference on the sidelines of the annual gathering of the country's top legislature on Sunday, Japan should have deeply repented for the wrong path it chose in history, including its brutal invasion and colonization of China's Taiwan region.

Instead, the current Japanese leader claimed that a "Taiwan contingency" could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, under which Japan may exercise its so-called "right of collective self-defense". Given that Japanese militarists used "survival-threatening situation" as a pretext for launching aggression, such rhetoric can only make the people in the region alert and deeply worried: Where exactly is Japan headed?

Despite ongoing regional tensions, Tokyo received a so-called "personal visit" from a member of the Democratic Progressive Party authorities of the Taiwan region on the weekend. The Sanae Takaichi government was fully aware of the "unspeakable motives" behind this individual's surreptitious visit to Japan with the motive of engaging in provocations for "Taiwan independence", as pointed out by Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun.

This is a thoroughly despicable act, not only by the DPP authorities but also by the Takaichi government, which feigns ignorance of the nature of this "personal visit".

China is firmly opposed to any attempt by the Japanese side to create gray areas or test Beijing's red lines on the Taiwan question. The Takaichi government should stop leveraging the Taiwan Strait situation to accelerate the pace of Japan's military buildup. Guo warned that Japan will have to pay a price for emboldening such provocations and acting recklessly, and shall bear full and sole responsibility for all consequences arising from its actions.

Japan has already deployed PAC-3 interceptors and mid-range surface-to-air missiles on many of its islands, and Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi has announced plans to deploy the mid-range SAMs on Japan's westernmost island of Yonaguni, just east of the Taiwan island, by March 2031. From point to line to area, Japan is quickly covering an increasingly larger region within the range of its missiles under the pretext of countering "external threats", irrespective of the implications of its provocative moves and the potential consequences.

All this indicates that Japan is rapidly deviating from the path of peaceful development it has long claimed to uphold, and is moving further in a dangerous direction reminiscent of its aggressive and militaristic past.

Such a "preemptive" strategy only fuels potential military adventurism. It will inevitably exacerbate regional tensions, and could trigger uncontrollable conflicts. The exercising of the "right of collective self-defense" is simply a way to hollow out Japan's pacifist Constitution, which renounces the right of belligerency.

The lessons of history are clear: unchecked military ambition leads only to conflict and suffering. It is imperative that all peace-loving nations should unite to oppose any form of militaristic resurgence in Japan.

The world cannot afford to stand idly by while Japanese right-wingers gamble with the lessons of history.