text / Fat Man Eggplant
As the saying goes, what you are afraid of will come to you. The recent high-intensity training of Liaoning ship in Okinawa has obviously stimulated some Japanese people's pain points. And why are they so afraid of China? It is precisely because they have something wrong with them.
(Liaoning ship photographed by the Self-Defense Forces)
According to the Japan Times report on December 22, the Japanese Ministry of Defense recently issued a notice stating that the Chinese Navy's aircraft carrier Liaoning conducted frequent military training activities in the waters near Kitadaito Island, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, in just three days from the 17th to the 20th, which caused concern in Japan.
Japanese data shows that during these 72 hours, the Liaoning ship conducted highly frequent carrier-based aircraft takeoff and landing training activities, with a total of more than 130 times, of which about 60 times involved J-15 fighter jets, and about 70 times involved various types of ship-based helicopters.
(Liaoning ship releases carrier-based aircraft)
It is reported that the Liaoning ship was far away from Japanese territorial waters at that time. When it was closest to the waters of Beidadong Island, it maintained a distance of 260 kilometers. At its farthest point, it once reached 450 kilometers, completely at a "safe distance." But even so, Japan also attaches great importance to it.
It is reported that the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force dispatched the Kirisame frigate (DD-104) this time to replace the Amakusa support ship that had previously tracked the Liaoning fleet through the Miyako Strait , and conducted long-term monitoring and tracking of the Liaoning ship.
In addition, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force dispatched fighter jets after observing the frequent carrier-based aircraft activities of the Liaoning ship on alert. However, the "Izumo", which has participated in many surveillance operations against the Liaoning ship before, is currently not participating in this surveillance operation.
(Self-Defense Force fighter planes took off in an emergency)
Judging from the data alone, the training intensity of the Liaoning ship during this period is obviously much higher than before. In May of this year, the Liaoning ship, which was also conducting exercises in the Western Pacific, conducted more than 300 carrier-based aircraft takeoff and landing training in 12 days, which aroused high tension in Japan at that time.
The Japanese Ministry of Defense also pointed out that since this year, the frequency of Chinese fighter jets, especially the Chinese Navy's aircraft carrier , has increased significantly near Japan. In the six months from April to September this year alone, Japan scrambled fighter jets 446 times, 340 of which were in response to Chinese land-based fighters and Chinese carrier-based aircraft, accounting for 76% of the total., set a new record since the 2021 fiscal year - of course, the Japanese may not be too happy about this record.
(J-15 landed on the Liaoning ship)
However, it should be noted that the Chinese navy has never violated Japan’s territorial waters during normal exercises and training activities, or made any moves that threaten Japan’s national security, such as targeting Japanese targets and conducting simulated attacks. In fact, the Chinese navy's exercises and training in the Western Pacific are, like those of the United States, completely reasonable and legal, and not directed at any third party. Japan is so "overly sensitive" to this, perhaps because the Japanese authorities themselves have ulterior motives.
In a series of important defense documents recently revised by the Liberal Democratic Party government, the "possibility of conflict with China" was clearly mentioned, and the defense budget will be significantly increased to deal with China's "security threats". James Brown, a professor at Temple University in Japan, also publicly claimed: "The outbreak of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has turned the conflict in Taiwan from a theoretical possibility into an imminent threat."
(Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force conducts exercises)
Masashi Murano, a Japan expert at the Hudson Institute, also pointed out that Japan is well aware that it lacks strategic depth, so it is establishing its core advantages relying on long-range missiles , network warfare and electromagnetic strikes. It is not difficult to see that Japan has firmly sided with the United States and has begun to prepare for a possible direct military conflict with China.
However, all of this is not only based on misjudgments and false assumptions about China, but also on the United States' continuous unilateral destruction of Sino-Japanese communication and friendly cooperation.Nowadays, Japan, Australia and other countries continue to deepen their bilateral conflicts and regard China as an "enemy." In essence, the United States is fueling the situation behind the scenes in order to safeguard the United States' regional interests. It can be said that if one day a military conflict or even a war breaks out in the Western Pacific region, the final mastermind behind it may be the United States, which is "fearful that the world will not be in chaos."
