The annual defence whitepaper issued by the Japanese Government states the empire's security will be shaped by threats emanating out of China and North Korea. The 429-page report follows Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's announcement that his Cabinet approved a "reinterpretation" of its pacifist constitution that now allows Japanese forces to fight abroad and is in response to Japanese concerns of China's military development and increased presence in East China and South China seas. The move was met with swift condemnation from China. 

Like Us on Facebook

"Instead of seeing China becoming a real threat, we have witnessed an increasingly aggressive Japan, a country that has broken its post-war pacifist pledges and looks poised to assert its military presence over the Asia-Pacific," said the state-run Xinhua news agency, slamming Japan for what it sees as a little more that populist hyping on the part of Abe. 

Other Chinese publications, including the Beijing Times, People's Daily, and China Daily issued similar statements, concluding that the move is little more than self-generated paranoia created by Abe to justify a more militaristic Japan and to shore up his withering popularity at home.

"No matter what the circumstances, I will protect Japanese people's lives and peaceful existence," Abe said at a recent press conference, as reported by the Australia Network News. "As the prime minister, I have this grave responsibility. With this determination, the cabinet approved the basic policy for national security."

Ironically, many Japanese share China's sentiments, being unwilling to be dragged into international quagmires such as Iraq or Afghanistan. Under its current constitution, Japan has no official army, only a "self-defence force" that cannot attack, only defend. More over, Japan shares an ever-deepening military alliance with the United States stemming from the 1952 post-WWII treaty between the United States and Japan that obligates American forces to intervene should Japan be attacked, creating even murkier waters. 

Aside from North Korean belligerence, Japanese skittishness stems from China identifying an air defence zone over islands Japan claims. These same islands, also claimed by China and Taiwan, were the scene of a stand-off between Japanese and Chinese naval vessels earlier this year. American President Barack Obama publicly stated it stands behind Japan with regard to the disputed territory. China's push into the Paracel and Spratly islands in the South China Sea, regions currently under no recognized sovereignty, also has Tokyo rattled.

"China's armed forces will adopt defensive emergency measures to respond to aircraft that do not cooperate in the identification or refuse to follow the instructions," the Chinese defense ministry said at the time, a move that prompted the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, to urge China not take any action. 

While the two nations are economically bound together, there is deep political distrust between China and Japan. China sees its neighbor to the east as never owning up to atrocities the Imperial Japanese Army wrought during WWII. Japan sees China as a nascent bully and regional authoritarian ready to snatch up territories to which it does not have claim. As Asian conflicts rarely stay confined, a flareup in hostilities involving both or either has economists and political analysts worried. 

The lifting of the ban on foreign deployment was one of Abe's campaign promises. The Japanese government has also lifted a self-imposed ban on weapons exports. Japan will spend 24.7 trillion yen ($240 billion USD) between 2014 and 2019 on military hardware, including drones, submarines, fighter jets and amphibious vehicles.

TagsJapanese military expansion, China-Japan relations