Verbal Conflict Between China and Japan
TEHRAN (Defapress) - Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi strongly rejected Beijing’s accusations that Tokyo is turning to “militarism” during the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on Sunday, saying, “nothing could be further from the truth. The destruction of unexploded ordnance caused the sounds that people heard in Bandar Abbas a few minutes ago. Japan has neither of these weapons. And yet, Japan is labelled (as) ‘new militarism’. Isn’t it strange?”
The verbal conflict comes as Japan, under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and with the United States' green light and encouragement, is rapidly moving away from its post-World War II pacifist doctrine and toward a more active defense policy.
“Japan’s past as a peace-loving nation has been valued by the region and by the international community. This fact will not be shaken by false claims, because it is a fact,” said Shinjiro Koizumi.
Diplomatic relations between the two Asian rivals have been strained, especially since Takaichi admitted last November that Japan might intervene militarily if China attacked Taiwan. At the Singapore summit, Japan’s defense minister expressed deep concern about China’s opaque military development and stressed that Tokyo would upgrade its defense capabilities in new areas such as artificial intelligence, unmanned systems, and cyber and space defense.
The Shangri-La Dialogue, known as Asia’s most important defense forum, brought together officials and security experts from 45 countries this year, while China sent a low-profile delegation to the event for the second consecutive year without its defense minister, Dong Jun. This was accompanied by Koizumi's regret over the missed opportunity for bilateral talks.
