On the pretext of seeking the so-called "capacity to attack enemy bases", it continues to strengthen its military presence in the Indo-Pacific region -


　　Japan is going further and further on the road of military aggressiveness

　　At the beginning of 2022, Japan has made frequent military moves, continuing its previous aggressive momentum.

On January 17, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida delivered his first policy policy speech after taking office at the plenary session of the House of Representatives of the Japanese House of Representatives, bluntly discussing the strengthening of "realistic defense capabilities" including the so-called "attack capability against enemy bases".

　　Earlier, Fumio Kishida and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison held a video conference on January 6 to sign the "Reciprocal Access Agreement" on joint training and disaster response of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and the Australian Defence Force.

The Japan-US "2+2" meeting held on January 7 issued a "Joint Statement", reaffirming that Article 5 of the "Japan-US Security Treaty" applies to the Diaoyu Islands, and re-emphasized "peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait" and other issues.

Japan's frequent military advances have aroused widespread concern and strong concern in the international community.

Ingenious plans to improve defense capabilities

　　"The ability to attack enemy bases" is an important goal of Japan in the defense field.

To this end, Japan has made it clear that the development of medium- and long-range attack capabilities is one of the priorities of the Self-Defense Forces capacity building.

　　This is a microcosm of Japan's improvement of the combat capability of the Self-Defense Forces.

In recent years, under the pretext of responding to the so-called "neighboring country threats", keeping up with "emerging fields", and strengthening international security cooperation, Japan has increased its defense budget for many years and continuously promoted defense policy adjustments. Its ambition to promote "military normalization" is clear. expose.

　　On the one hand, Japan takes advantage of the U.S. mentality to promote its "Indo-Pacific strategy" to continuously improve its "autonomous security capabilities" on the grounds of deepening the U.S.-Japan military alliance.

The new version of the "Defense Plan Outline" announced by Japan in December 2018 proposed the development of "multi-domain joint operations" capabilities.

Since then, the Japanese Self-Defense Force has successively established a space combat team and a network defense team in the name of keeping up with the "emerging field", and formed two electronic warfare squadrons. It plans to establish a third electronic warfare squadron and electronic warfare command. The transition from "defense" to "offensive" deserves high vigilance from the international community.

　　On the other hand, in the name of helping Pacific island countries and Southeast Asian countries to "build maritime law enforcement agencies", Japan has carried out various military cooperation with them, and quietly penetrated into the above-mentioned areas.

Japan also expanded its legal interpretation at will, and independently dispatched ships of the Maritime Self-Defense Force to the Middle East to collect intelligence under the pretext of "ensuring peace and stability in the Middle East and the safety of Japanese-related ships."

These moves fully demonstrate that Japan is eager to show its presence in the field of international security, and hopes to break through the limitation that the Self-Defense Forces can only conduct homeland defense.

　　Japan's above-mentioned actions are, first, to create an excuse to improve its "independent security capability", induce domestic public opinion, and provide budget and other support for strengthening offensive military power; second, it is to strengthen the Japan-US military alliance, hold the United States, and ensure that Japan is in the realization of "independent security". ” continued to be “reliably” protected.

Many enticements, pull gangs to find people "platforms"

　　In addition to the above-mentioned actions, Japan has also strengthened defense cooperation with countries that share "common values" on the grounds of "ensuring its own security" and "fulfilling its alliance obligations" to promote the outward-oriented transformation and use of Japan's military power.

　　After the end of World War II, Japan was "tamed" by the Western world led by the United States in the fields of politics and security, and became a firm but extremely "alternative" member of the Western camp.

In recent years, under the guidance of the so-called "great power competition" strategy, the United States has continuously encouraged its allies to jointly adopt a "containment" policy toward China, but few responded, and most allies were unwilling to take concrete actions.

Against this background, Japan has actively built and strengthened the Japan-US-Australia-India Quartet Security Dialogue mechanism, and then used this as an axis to win over the United Kingdom, France, Canada and other NATO countries to send warships to the Western Pacific as its "platform".

　　At present, Japan has signed the "Defense Equipment and Technology Transfer Agreement" with 11 countries including Vietnam, signed the "Military Intelligence Protection Agreement" with 9 countries including Germany, and signed the "Mutual Provision of Materials and Labor Agreement" with India and other countries. The United States, Britain, France, Germany and other countries have established a "2+2" meeting mechanism between foreign ministers and defense ministers.

In November 2021, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces implemented "weapon and other protection" for objects other than the US military for the first time to provide security protection for Australian naval ships.

　　On this basis, Japan frequently conducts military exercises with relevant countries, continuously strengthens the maritime self-defense force's ability to operate in the open seas, and continues to strengthen its military presence and partnership in the Indo-Pacific region, which has negatively affected the security landscape of the Asia-Pacific region.

　　The signing of the "Reciprocal Access Agreement" with Australia is the first time that Japan has signed a similar military agreement with another country since the "Status of US Forces in Japan Agreement" signed with the United States based on the "Japan-US Security Treaty" in 1960.

The agreement will remove legal obstacles for the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and Australian Defense Forces to conduct joint training in each other's countries, and provide a basis for Japan, the United States and Australia to deepen military cooperation in Australia, Japan and surrounding areas.

Japan also hopes that the agreement will serve as a model to strengthen its military cooperation with India, the United Kingdom, Canada and other countries.

Hidden evil intentions, trying to become a political and military power

　　After the end of World War II, Japan has long sought to ensure its own security based on the "Japan-US alliance", and is also constantly developing offensive and outward-oriented military forces to enhance its "autonomous security" capabilities.

　　In order to achieve the "seamless connection" and even the "superimposed application" of the above two types of means, Japan needs to seek a delicate balance between continuously strengthening its "autonomous security capabilities" and gradually reducing its security dependence on the United States.

In the process, Japan has been taking the opportunity to enhance its military capabilities.

　　In fact, Japan's real goal is to achieve the so-called "national normalization" at the political and military levels, to lift the restrictions on Japan's military power imposed by the Peace Constitution, and to gain the status of a political and military power.

The Liberal Democratic Party, which has long been one-party dominance in Japanese politics, has clearly made "revision of the constitution" or "formulation of a new constitution" as its basic policy when formulating or revising the "Party Founding Manifesto and Program".

Especially since 2012, the cabinets of Shinzo Abe, Yoshihide Suga, and Fumio Kishida have accelerated the "formulation of a new constitution" and continued to prepare for the legal system and public opinion.

Japan is trying to use its military aggressiveness to substantively override the regulations of the pacifist constitution, and gradually increase the support and tolerance of domestic and foreign public opinion for Japan's "strong military", "offensive strong military" and "export-oriented military use", forcing Japanese voters to accept and even Support "the creation of a new constitution".

　　From this perspective, the "Reciprocal Access Agreement" between Japan and Australia and the "Joint Statement" of the Japan-U.S. "2+2" meeting at the beginning of 2022 are just Japan's pursuit of becoming a new political and military power in the name of "supporting the United States and curbing China". Prologue of a round of attempts.

Japan is going further and further on the road of military aggressiveness, and the international community must be highly vigilant.

　　(Author: Sun Shaohong and Liu Yanan Unit: National Defense University Joint Warfare College)