On May 6, Japan fired a surface-to-ship “Type 88” missile during military exercises off the coast of the Philippines, hitting a decommissioned Philippine ship. The launch occurred as part of Balikatan, the annual joint military exercises between the United States and the Philippines, with Japan and Australia also participating. This is the first firing of the missile by Japan outside of its own borders.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian, asked about this, responded forcefully: “Japan once invaded and imposed colonial rule over the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries, and thus shoulder grave historical responsibilities. As the world marks 80 years of the opening of the Tokyo Trials, not only has Japan, the aggressor, failed to deeply reflect on its historical crimes, it has even sent military forces overseas and fired offensive missiles under the pretext of security cooperation. This is yet another example of the Japanese right-wing forces’ push for accelerated remilitarization of Japan. They have repeatedly breached Japan’s exclusively defense-oriented policy and relevant rules in international and domestic laws…. The serious lack of education on true history, the fundamentally wrong historical views, compounded by strategies for military rearmament and preparation for war, have led to the malevolent emergence of neo-militarism in Japan and put regional peace and stability under threat.”
