Beijing protests Tokyo's white paper on defense

According to the Chinese, the document denigrates their government's military policy. Japan aims for growth in military spending to 2 percent of GDP. Kishida administration: Russian attack on Ukraine risks becoming a precedent for Chinese aggression against Taiwan.

Beijing (AsiaNews) - China  has officially protested the White Paper on defense released yesterday by the Japanese government. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said the document "makes accusations and smears China's defence policy, market economic development and legitimate maritime activities."

Tokyo points to Beijing's "intimidation" of Taiwan, the repercussions of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the vulnerability of the global supply chain in technology as growing threats to its national security.

According to the Chinese, Japan exaggerates China's so-called threat and interferes in its internal affairs regarding Taiwan's status-a way to justify its plans for military buildup. The white paper explains that Japan aims to increase its defense budget to 2 percent of GDP, mainly to develop its counterattack capabilities.

Fumio Kishida's government stresses that it fears a widening of military ties between Beijing and Moscow because of the Ukrainian conflict. Tokyo has sided with the U.S. and Europe in condemning and sanctioning Russian aggression. For the Japanese, the Kremlin's move is a blatant violation of international law that risks setting a precedent by incentivizing armed action against Taiwan, which China considers a "rebel" province to be regained.

Japan and China have a territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands (Diaoyu for the Chinese) in the East China Sea, which many analysts see as a possible theater of armed confrontation between the two countries in the future.  

• china
• beijing
• japan
• tokyo
• defense
• war
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• ukraine
• russia
• taiwan
• senkaku