Japanese PM vows defense expansion while hyping 'Chinese threat'

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pledged to change the country's defense-only military policy while hyping the so-called "growing Chinese coercion" in her first post-election speech to the parliament on Friday.

While acknowledging China as "an important neighboring country" and claiming that building "a constructive and stable relationship with China" is a consistent policy, Takaichi used China and its regional partners as the excuse for Japan to change its defense policy.

Takaichi vowed to revise Japan's three security documents this year with a new defense strategy. She also said to accelerate the revision of Japan's military export rules, aimed at strengthening Japan's defense production base and expanding overseas sales. 

The three security documents, first created by Shinzo Abe in 2013 and approved by Kinshida government in 2022, have marked a significant turning point in Japan's pacifist post-war security policy. According to the documents, Japan is set to raise its defense spending to 2 percent of GDP by 2027, potentially making the country with a pacifist constitution one of the largest military spenders.

The documents also notably interpreted the previously not-included "counterstrike capabilities" as the "key to deterring invasion," allowing Japan to possess long-range weapons with stand-off capabilities under its "exclusively defense-oriented" military policy.

Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party has already planned to expand Japan's rules on military exports, according to Japanese media. The current rules that limit military exports to five non-lethal purposes are set to be abolished to allow the export of lethal arms, including selling jointly developed weapon systems to countries beyond the partners in the projects. 

Takaichi's four-month premiership has been marked by diplomatic provocation against China. In November, Takaichi linked the Taiwan question to a so-called "situation of existential crisis," an erroneous remark challenging China's sovereignty and the post-war international order, as Chinese diplomats refuted on multiple occasions. 

China has urged the world to stay vigilant against Japan's recent attempt at remilitarization. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned Japan of a "dangerous trend" in remarks at the 62nd Munich Security Conference on February 14. .

(With inputs from agencies)