China has called on Japan to reflect on history following the signing of a defense pact with the Philippines.
“Japan should seriously reflect on its history of aggression and be more cautious in its words and actions in the field of military security,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.
Japan occupied the Philippines, then under U.S. control, during World War II, resulting in more than a million deaths. Japan had already occupied much of China and committed several massacres, including the massacre of Nanjing in 1937.
“The Asia-Pacific region does not need military groupings, let alone smaller groupings that will incite conflict between camps and provoke a new cold war. Any action that undermines regional peace and stability and undermines regional unity and cooperation will arouse the alarm and common opposition of the people in the region,” Lin said.
He was commenting on a reciprocal access agreement that allows the two countries’ militaries to take part in joint military exercises in each other’s countries. The pact was signed in Manila on Monday by Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa.
This is Japan’s first agreement with another Asian country. Japan has similar agreements with Australia and the UK, and is in negotiations with France.
Foreign Minister Kamikawa described the signing of the agreement as a “groundbreaking achievement” and said, “A free and open international order based on the rule of law is the foundation for peace and prosperity in the region. We would like to work closely with your country to maintain and strengthen this order.”
Teodoro called the agreement “another milestone in our shared efforts to establish a rules-based international order to ensure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.”
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Chinese and Philippine ships collide for first time under Beijing’s new coast guard law
Chinese and Philippine ships collide for first time under Beijing’s new coast guard law
The Philippines has strengthened security ties with treaty ally the United States in recent years and has been embroiled in a series of clashes with Chinese Coast Guard vessels in disputed areas of the South China Sea.
Japan, which has a territorial dispute with Beijing in the East China Sea, has gradually built up ties with the Philippines since the end of the war.
China has become Manila’s major trade and investment partner since signing a free trade agreement with the US in the mid-2000s and is also working to strengthen defense ties, selling patrol boats to the navy and sending fighter jets and tanks to take part in joint military exercises.
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