Japan published its 2026 Defense White Paper, calling China’s military developments an "unprecedentedly large strategic challenge" and saying Chinese activity around Taiwan has become more frequent. Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Chen Xi said the white paper is full of false narratives, accused Tokyo of manufacturing a "peripheral security crisis" and hyping a "China threat" to justify loosening military restraints, and expressed strong opposition. He accused Japan’s ruling authorities of hi

Japan published its 2026 Defense White Paper, calling China’s military developments an "unprecedentedly large strategic challenge" and saying Chinese activity around Taiwan has become more frequent. Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Chen Xi said the white paper is full of false narratives, accused Tokyo of manufacturing a "peripheral security crisis" and hyping a "China threat" to justify loosening military restraints, and expressed strong opposition. He accused Japan’s ruling authorities of hiding behind "exclusively defensive" rhetoric while accelerating revisions to the "three security documents", raising defense spending, developing long-range offensive capabilities, weaponizing and operationalizing space, and packaging military-industrial expansion as economic growth to embed rearmament into institutions, industry and public opinion. Chen called Japan’s "new militarism" a serious challenge to the post‑war international order and a real threat to regional peace and stability, reiterated that the Taiwan issue concerns China’s sovereignty and is an inviolable red line, and urged Japan to reflect on its history, stop interfering in China’s internal affairs and abandon further "remilitarization".