Rising Japanese military budget seen as disruptive

China expressed concerns on Thursday over the consecutive increase in Japan’s annual defense budget, urging it to behave with caution in military and security areas.

“Whatever the reason is, Japan has increased its defense budget year by year and has set a record,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Thursday.

Japan has hyped various threats in recent years, increased its defense budget and approved the new security bills, Hua said, but “all parties should stay vigilant to the real intention behind such activities”.

Japan’s Defense Ministry requested on Thursday a record budget of 5.26 trillion yen ($48 billion) for fiscal 2018.

This request, if approved by the government, would mark the sixth consecutive year of increases in the annual defense budget, the Japan Times reported.

Hua said, due to historical and realistic reasons, the international community, especially its neighbors, have been concerned about Japan’s movements in military and security areas.

“We hope it can learn a lesson from history, value the neighboring countries’ security concerns and behave with caution,” she said.

When asked to comment on Japan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso’s recent controversial remarks about Adolf Hitler, Hua said it showed that some people in Japan still insist on using wrong ideas regarding historic issues.

Speaking at a meeting of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s lawmakers on Tuesday, Aso said: “Hitler, who killed millions of people, is no good even if his motive was right.”

“History is the best textbook, and it is also a mirror,” Hua said, urging those people to hold a correct view of history and win trust from people in Japan, neighboring countries as well as the global community with practical deeds.

Also at Thursday’s news conference, Hua expressed “astonishment” over German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel’s remark on Wednesday that “China should have a one-Europe policy that doesn’t attempt to divide us”.

“China has always been a firm supporter of European integration,” Hua said.

“We hope some people will regard the China-Europe relationship with an objective, open and non-zero-sum game attitude,” she added. “Do not make such irresponsible remarks, and do not do things that harm mutual trust and cooperation.”

Da Zhigang, director of the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies at the Heilongjiang Academy of Social Sciences, said Japan’s defense budget increase will do no good to maintaining peace.

“Instead, it will only create the vicious circle of an arms race in the region,” he said, adding that Japan’s budget will continue to rise in order to realize its goal of becoming a military power.