China calls attention to Japan's intended military buildup, troublemaking

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Thursday urged attention to whether Japan is intentionally stirring up trouble and making close-in provocations to justify its own military buildup and missions overseas.

Spokesperson Guo Jiakun made the remarks in response to a query about a land lease deal reportedly signed by Japan's Defense Ministry for deploying a mobile surveillance radar unit on the easternmost island of Okinawa to monitor the activities of Chinese aircraft carriers and airplanes in waters between Okinawa's main island and Miyako Island.

"It needs to be stressed that countries enjoy freedom of navigation and overflight in relevant waters and airspace in accordance with international law," Guo said at a daily press briefing.

He pointed out that due to Japanese militarists' history of aggression and other reasons, Japan's moves in military and security areas have been closely watched by its Asian neighbors and the international community.

The Japanese side has kept strengthening targeted military deployment near China's Taiwan region and even claimed it would deploy mid-range missiles. "This time, it went even further by deploying a radar unit and troops to secretly monitor its neighbor," Guo said.

"Given the erroneous and dangerous remarks made by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Taiwan, we must question whether the Japanese side is making trouble and provocations at one's doorstep to find a pretext for its military buildup and missions overseas. Is the Japanese side once again going down the wrong path of militarism to a dead end laid out by the right-wing forces? We urge the Japanese side to learn from history," Guo added.