Christine Drews Sieger
China and Russia have pledged to jointly oppose Japan’s expanding military capabilities and potential pursuit of nuclear weapons to safeguard the post-war international order.
China and Russia are standing together against Japanese defense ambitions.
Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui recently published an article with the Russian news agency TASS.
In the article, he stated that Moscow and Beijing view the post-war international order as indisputable. He added that both nations will firmly oppose Japan’s efforts to acquire nuclear weapons.
“Beijing and Moscow think it necessary to remain highly vigilant and to resolutely oppose Japan’s accelerated remilitarization and its pursuit of nuclear weapons,” the diplomat emphasized.
A shared historical mission
According to Zhang, Russia and China are ready to join forces with other nations. They want to partner with countries that respect historical justice and international law.
“We must not allow historical truth to be forgotten and the boundaries of justice to be eroded. The foundations of the post-war international order are indisputable,” he noted.
The goal is “to defend the right understanding of the history of World War II, resolutely thwart any attempts to revive Japanese militarism, safeguard the hard-won peace, and promote the establishment of a more just and reasonable international order,” the ambassador wrote at TASS.
Japan’s military buildup draws growing scrutiny
The concerns from Beijing and Moscow come as Japan continues to expand its military capabilities.
In a recent report, Reuters noted that Tokyo has increased defense spending and is acquiring U.S.-made Tomahawk missiles capable of striking targets more than 1,000 kilometers away.
Japan has also been strengthening its long-range strike capabilities as it prepares to revise its national security strategy later this year.
North Korea has portrayed these developments, together with growing U.S.-Japan-South Korea cooperation, as evidence of an increasingly threatening military bloc in Northeast Asia.
