Agence France-Presse, China’s defense chief pledged Aug. 30 that the rising power posed no threat to Japan as the countries tried to ease lingering tensions by agreeing to a crisis hot line and a first-ever Chinese ship visit.
Gen. Cao Gangchuan is the first Chinese military chief to come to Japan in nearly a decade. He met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has worked to repair rocky relations between Asia’s largest economies.
“Those who speak of the theory of China as a military threat are ignorant of the true situation, and their claims are unfounded,” Cao said in a public address to invited officials and politicians.
He defended China’s rising military spending, its nuclear arsenal and its test shootdown of a satellite in space, all of which have unnerved Japan.
“China does hold missiles and nuclear weapons. But they are for defense purposes,” Cao said. “China wants to see total nuclear disarmament.”
The general’s visit to Japan was the first by a Chinese defense minister since February 1998, before relations between Tokyo and Beijing turned icy under former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
Koizumi drew China’s ire by annually visiting the controversial Yasukuni shrine, which honors war dead along with war criminals who led Japan’s militarism in Asia.
Abe, despite a conservative ideology, headed to Beijing days after taking office last year and has hailed the warming relationship as a key achievement.
“By inviting China’s defense chief, we hope that we will further enhance relations between Japan and China,” Japanese Defense Minister Masahiko Komura said as he welcomed Cao.
The two agreed to launch a study group to set up a military hot line. The two nations had a crisis in 2004, when Japan said a Chinese submarine intruded its waters.
“Both leaders agreed that they want to see it achieved as soon as possible,” said a Japanese defense official who attended the talks.
Cao also invited Japan to observe a Chinese military exercise next month and agreed to send a Chinese ship on a first-ever goodwill visit to Japan in November or December, the official said.
Defense matters remain a thorn in ties between the two countries. Abe’s government has joined the U.S. in voicing concern about China’s soaring military spending.
“China is yet to explain fully the rationale behind the rapid pace of the increase in its military spending, such as what it wants to do and the goals,” Komura told the Chinese general, according to the official.
“Japanese people would feel more at ease if China explained more,” he said.
Cao said China had spent much of its increased military spending to raise salaries for soldiers and on uniforms, but added it was also modernizing its military in line with global trends, the official said.
Japan has been officially pacifist since its defeat in World War II and relies on U.S. protection, despite also having one of the world’s best-funded armed forces.
Abe has championed a greater military role for Japan and has sought to ease potential discomfort from China and South Korea.
China has also in the past voiced concern about Japan’s stance on Taiwan, which Beijing considers a province awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.
Japan and the U.S. in 2005 said Taiwan was a common security issue.
