Japan defense paper a ploy

Japan's defense white paper for 2011 spares no pains in playing up the "China threat" theory. In fact, Japan is using the so-called theory as an excuse for its ambitious military buildup and to revise its pacifist constitution, something that will harm regional stability and security.

Tokyo is anxious over Beijing's rise because it is unwilling to accept the reality of a changing geopolitical landscape in the Asia-Pacific region and the fact that China has overtaken Japan as the world's second largest economy.

Japan has been exploiting the "China threat" theory and distorting China's intentions to hasten the pace of strengthening its Self-Defense Forces into a de facto military, which violates its "exclusively defensive defense" policy. Japan has two helicopter carriers, which it calls "destroyers", in service and is developing its own stealth fighters. It has set up a military base in Africa, too, to boost its power overseas without bothering to clarify its intentions.