Commentary
Citing the threat from communist China and Russia, Japan’s 2023 military budget is the biggest since World War II.
“China continues to unilaterally change or attempt to change the status quo by coercion in the East China Sea and South China Sea,” reads Japan’s 2022 defense white paper. The document outlines the scope of the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), including its willingness to use force to capture Taiwan, its deepening relationship with Russia, and “joint navigations and flights being conducted in the areas surrounding Japan by both Chinese and Russian vessels and aircraft.”
On Nov. 11, 2022, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told the East Asia Summit in Cambodia that the Chinese regime is continuously and increasingly threatening Japan’s sovereignty in the East China Sea while escalating regional tensions, particularly in the South China Sea. He also expressed his concern for the Uyghurs in China’s Xinjiang region. The repression of Uyghurs has been officially called a genocide by the U.S. Department of State. At the same meeting, U.S. President Joe Biden stressed the importance of maintaining freedom of navigation through the Taiwan Strait….