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Two Sessions 2023
ChinaDiplomacy

China berates Japan over massive military expansion plans

  • Chinese foreign minister invokes wartime past in warning to Japan to not upset the international order
  • Unusually harsh scolding reflects Beijing’s frustration at Tokyo’s willingness to side with the US, analyst says

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China has hit out at Japan’s willingness to side with the United States. Photo: aFP
Shi Jiangtao

China’s new foreign minister, Qin Gang, lashed out at Japan on Tuesday over its biggest military build-up since World War II, accusing Tokyo of helping Washington in its new cold war against Beijing.

In contrast to his otherwise tempered tone at his debut press conference on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress, Qin slammed the United States for its “hysterical neo-McCarthyism” to contain and suppress China and berated Japan for failing to learn from history.
While his sharp criticism of the US largely reflected the deepening distrust and hostilities between Beijing and Washington, his unusually harsh scolding of Tokyo highlighted recent deterioration of ties between the Asian neighbours, according to observers.

“Japanese militarism has inflicted deep damage on the Chinese nation, which is still painful to this day. The Chinese people will not forget, and neither should the Japanese side,” he said. “Forgetting history means betrayal, and denying guilt means repeating the crime.”

Brushing off growing concerns in Tokyo and many Western capitals about China’s military and diplomatic assertiveness, Qin insisted China always treated Japan with kindness and hoped to share good neighbourliness and friendship.

“However, if some people on the Japanese side do not treat their neighbours as partners ... or even participate in a new cold war to contain China, then the old wounds between the two countries will not heal and new pain will occur,” he warned.

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