Beijing accused Tokyo of using criticism of China's defense budget as a pretext for militarization

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Japan’s criticism of its military budget is an attempt to justify the expansion of its own military capabilities. Beijing called Japan’s claims that the published Chinese data was inaccurate misleading to the international community and assured the world of the transparency of its spending. 

The public dispute erupted following an interview with Japan’s new defense minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, who expressed doubts about the accuracy of China’s financial reports and promised Tokyo’s transparency regarding funding for drones and artificial intelligence.

The conflict is unfolding against the backdrop of a massive acceleration in Japan’s rearmament, with its military spending in the current fiscal year expected to reach about 10.6 trillion yen, equivalent to 66.1 billion dollars. Although this amount is less than a quarter of China’s official defense budget, the Japanese government lifted the former cap of 1% of gross domestic product back in 2022 and plans to increase spending to 2% of GDP by 2027. At the same time, the United States is insisting on an even greater increase in this figure for its Asian allies—up to 3.5% of GDP.

China’s Foreign Ministry has sharply criticized its neighbor’s recent defense reforms, particularly the expansion of collective self-defense rights, the development of long-range missile systems, and the relaxation of arms export regulations. China argues that such moves by right-wing political forces are fueling the rise of a new form of militarism in Japan, posing a direct threat to stability and security throughout the region.

Japan has downgraded its assessment of relations with China amid tensions over Taiwan — Bloomberg.

France and the Philippines have signed a military agreement amid tensions with China.