Asia-Pacific
Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson slams Japan’s new defense document, warns against Tokyo’s resurgence of militarism
In response to Japan’s recently released 2025 Defense of Japan pamphlet, which claimed China as an « unprecedented and the greatest strategic challenge, » falsely accused China of attempting « unilateral changes to the status quo by force, » and made inappropriate remarks on the Taiwan question, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Jiang Bin said on Wednesday that Japan, in an attempt to find excuse for its military expansion, had fabricated false narratives, grossly hyped the « China threat, » and blatantly interfered in China’s internal affairs. China expresses strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to this and has already lodged solemn representations with Japan.
Japanese militarism once inflicted profound suffering on China and other Asian neighbors. Instead of seriously reflecting on its past, Japan is once again showing dangerous tendencies toward military expansion – significantly increasing its defense budget, steadily loosening restrictions on arms exports, forming small military blocs to promote confrontation, and even suggesting revisions to its Three Non-Nuclear Principles. These actions gravely violate Japan’s Peace Constitution and its exclusively defense-oriented policy, severely undermine the post-war international order, and pose a serious challenge to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. They have already triggered deep concern and heightened vigilance among neighboring Asian countries and the broader international community, Jiang said.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, as well as the 80th anniversary of Taiwan’s recovery. The return of Taiwan to China in 1945 is an important part of the fruits of victory in World War II and the post-war international order. We urge Japan to profoundly learn from historical lessons, stop smearing and accusing China, earnestly abide by the spirit of the four China-Japan political documents and its commitments on the Taiwan question, and take concrete actions to promote the sound and stable development of China-Japan relations, the Chinese spokesperson said.
(source: Global Times)
AUKUS likely to see membership expansion, ‘poses threats to regional stability’
The US is seeking to bring more countries into the AUKUS military alliance, forming a mini-NATO in Asia, which poses unprecedented threats and challenges to the region’s prosperity and stability, Chinese experts warned, after media reported that Japan and Canada may join by the end of 2024 or early 2025.
According to Politico on Tuesday, which quoted one senior diplomat, Japan and Canada are in line to join the pillar two section of the AUKUS agreement by the end of 2024 or early 2025, and the participants will sign up for extensive collaboration in military technology.
While pillar one of the agreement entails the US and UK assisting Australia in constructing nuclear-powered submarines, pillar two allows the three nations to collaborate on agreements for the development of advanced military technology in areas such as artificial intelligence, hypersonic missiles and quantum technologies, the media said.
Chinese experts reached by the Global Times noted that the AUKUS alliance has been actively seeking to broaden its influence by expansion, with the overarching objective of transforming itself into a mini-NATO in Asia.
« As Australia, one of the core components of AUKUS, has been equipping nuclear-powered vessels as well as manufacturing and deploying missiles, the military alliance is aiming to leverage Australia’s geographical location to achieve its strategic goals, » Chen Hong, director of the Australian Studies Center at East China Normal University, told the Global Times on Thursday.
AUKUS hopes that if the US and the West were to engage in military actions against China, Australia can play the role of a vanguard, Chen said.
The expert added that AUKUS has long been hoping to expand its membership to include Japan, Canada and the Philippines. « The bloc is trying to bring strategically important countries in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as countries that may have conflicts with China, into this small group. The goal is to form a NATO-like alliance in Asia to ultimately serve as a deterrent against China, » Chen noted.
According to Politico, AUKUS’ likely membership expansion comes amid fears from the three nations that the US November presidential election result would make the country wind back or scrap the AUKUS deal.
Chinese experts said linking AUKUS’ expansion attempts with the results of the US election is naive. Regardless of the election outcome, the US has consistently exerted pressure on China, and its strategy to contain China’s development has remained unchanged, analysts said.
Since its inception, AUKUS has been a source of controversy, both internationally and within the alliance. According to the Reuters on Wednesday, Australian unions have shown fierce resistance against plans for a new submarine base, which was one of the major deals of the AUKUS security pact.
« We don’t want to be part of someone else’s belligerent nuclear plans, » the protesters said on Monday, urging the government to abandon the plans in a series of protests. Reuters reported that the unions’ resistance shows the challenge facing the high-stakes defense project with the US and UK that aims to counter China’s growing influence in the Pacific region.
Regarding the AUKUS nuclear submarine cooperation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin has previously stated that this is a typical Cold War mentality and a move that opens a Pandora’s Box, which will seriously impact regional and global peace and security.
« The US, the UK and Australia should listen to the call of the international community and countries in the region, stop pursuing bloc politics and confrontation, stop putting their selfish geopolitical agenda above nuclear non-proliferation obligations, » Wang said.
AUKUS’ introducing group politics and Cold War confrontation into the Asia-Pacific region will pose unprecedented threats and challenges to the region’s prosperity and stability, observers noted.
(source: globaltimes.cn)
China-ASEAN relations ‘most successful, vibrant model’ for cooperation in Asia-Pacific: Xi
From ‘golden era’ to ‘diamond decade’
In Nanning, which is dubbed as a frontier for China-ASEAN cooperation, it is easy to see rambutan from Thailand and eggfruits from Myanmar when local residents walk into supermarkets.
The access to affordable tropical fruits is partly enabled by a booming trade between China and ASEAN since the signing of the China-ASEAN free trade agreement (FTA) in 2010. An upgraded protocol of the FTA was implemented in 2019.
In 2020, ASEAN took over the EU to become China’s largest trading partner. In the first 10 months of 2020, bilateral trade volume reached 3.79 trillion yuan, up 7 percent year-on-year. China’s investment in the bloc increased 70 percent in the first three quarters of 2020 from last year.
In addition to trade, another highlight of regional cooperation is infrastructure connectivity, which guarantees the free flow of goods even at the height of a pandemic.
So far, the Kunming-Bangkok Road, an important infrastructure project under the ASEAN framework and part of the Asian road network, has been running smoothly for more than a decade.
As China-ASEAN cooperation moves from the « golden era » to the « diamond decade, » what’s next for the two economies?
TANIKO Madagascar 