People's Daily, the flagship newspaper of the Communist Party of China, on Thursday published a commentary stating that Japan's decision to challenge the international order should be stopped.
The insidious intention and potential danger of Japan's move to reinterpret its pacifist Constitution regarding the right to collective self-defense are clear and evident to international society, said the commentary signed by Zhong Sheng, a regular commentator in the paper.
The Japanese government endorsed a reinterpretation of its pacifist Constitution on Tuesday for the right to collective self-defense.
The reinterpretation, approved by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet, is believed to be paving the way for Japan to send troops into battle overseas under the name of defending Japan and "countries with close ties".
Actions by Japan in regard to its military and security policies have long been a concern of China as the moves matter not only to Japan's development but also regional security, the article said.
The commentary noted that countries like the Republic of Korea, which have suffered from Japan's wartime aggression, have voiced their concern. International media have also noticed the possible sabotage Japan may do to peace in Asia.
"The easing of Japan's military limits has set off an alarm," it said, adding that almost 70 years since the triumph over fascism, the battle between justice and evil still goes on.
"With actions to deny its aggression history and atrocities it has done to Asian people, to visit the Yasukuni Shrine which honors World War II leading criminals and to encroach its pacifist Constitution, Japan is heading down a dangerous path," it said.
"The international order and post-War system is not Japan's own backyard which allows its flagrant challenges and assaults, and a wake-up warning to the Japanese right-wing forces is an effort to protect the world's anti-fascism achievements."
The article said the good will to cherish peace and the capability to safeguard peace are equally important, and China is willing to, capable of and confident in building a harmonious world of enduring peace and common prosperity together with people from around the globe.
