Japan Slams China, Russia Rearmament Claims as "Unfounded"

(MENAFN) Japan on Thursday forcefully rejected joint criticism from China and Russia over its accelerating military buildup, calling the allegations "unfounded" as tensions across the Indo-Pacific region deepen.

A day earlier, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a joint statement accusing Japan of speeding up remilitarization in ways that endanger regional peace and stability — remarks that drew an immediate and sharp rebuke from Tokyo.

Japanese Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Masanao Ozaki, speaking at a press conference Thursday, issued a dual demand directed at both neighbors. He called on China to "change its behavior" amid mounting alarm over Beijing's expanding military activities, which he described as a "cause for serious concern for the international community." He also pointedly urged Russia to "stop its invasion of Ukraine," according to Japanese media.

The exchange came as Putin wrapped up a two-day state visit to China on Wednesday.

Tokyo's relationship with Beijing has been on a sharp downward trajectory since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi warned last November that any Chinese military move against Taiwan — which Beijing claims as sovereign territory — could constitute an existential threat to Japan, potentially triggering its right to collective self-defense.

Since those remarks, China has grown increasingly vocal in opposing Japan's rearmament drive.

In a landmark break from its post-World War II pacifist doctrine, Japan last month dismantled longstanding prohibitions on military equipment exports, a sweeping policy shift that clears the path for lethal weapons sales abroad as Tokyo moves to bolster its defense capabilities and extend its strategic influence.

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