Japan's defense paper reflects Cold War mentality

BEIJING - The Japanese government on Tuesday released its 2012 defense white paper, as filled with obsolete words as previous editions, and continued to sing the old tune of "China threat theory" in a full reflection of Tokyo's Cold War mentality.

The white paper said Chinese ships entered the territorial waters of Japan near the "Senkaku Islands" (China's Diaoyu Islands) and termed the action a concern of the region.

However, by looking at Japan's actions these days, such as playing the farce to buy the Diaoyu Islands, purposely seeking to reinforce military alliances with the United States, and frequently conducting joint exercises, it's not hard to see that Japan's finger-pointing at China is untenable.

The white paper also showed Japanese uneasiness about Chinese ships sailing in and out of the Pacific Ocean, warning that it has been becoming a routine.

China has unswervingly pursued a military policy that is defensive in nature and takes the road of peaceful development.

In the white paper, Tokyo emphasized Japan-US military cooperation and advocates the effective construction of Japan's defense, a demonstration of hypocrisy and arrogance.

The annual defense papers released by Tokyo in recent years reflect its Cold War mentality, right-wing thoughts and fear of China. Japan's groundless criticism of China's national defense development and military activities, and its irresponsible remarks about China's internal affairs are unacceptable.

During the thousands of years of exchanges between China and Japan, the two neighbors have witnessed good relations as well as confrontations and war.

However, a handful of rightists advocate populism and attempt to abandon the so-called pacifist clause of the Japanese constitution that binds "the Japanese people (to) forever renounce war." The rightist efforts must be watched out.

With the rise of China and other emerging economies, the trend of development is inexorable. Japan should make a correct assessment of the situation and adopt a right attitude toward China's peaceful rise.

Japan should regard China's development as an opportunity instead of a threat. As former Japanese Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano put it, China's fast development is an important foundation for the economy of East Asia, including Japan.

The Cold War mentality should also be abandoned as it is a dangerous move to purposely create international tensions. Irresponsible comments and mischievous speculation do no good to the region's peace and stability. It is wise to foster friendly relations with neighboring countries and realize common development.