Artillery fire echoes over the Yellow Sea, and Japan strongly opposes the Chinese letter to the United Nations, seemingly having been struck by Beijing's move!
Recently, China submitted a formal letter to the United Nations regarding Japan's security policy direction, triggering an unusually high-profile response from Tokyo. On November 23, France International Radio cited a statement by Japanese government senior spokesperson Makiko Kobayashi during the G20 Johannesburg Summit, saying: "The claim that our position has changed is completely unfounded."
However, the key issue is not whether Japan acknowledges it, but whether the legal basis, historical framework, and real military deployments behind China's move constitute substantial deterrence. First, from a legal perspective, as one of the original member states of the United Nations and also a victorious country in World War II, the General Assembly retains the right to take individual or collective actions against "enemy countries" (i.e., defeated countries in World War II). These provisions have not been abolished by the General Assembly.
This means that if China identifies "substantial evidence of re-armament" by Japan, theoretically it does not need Security Council authorization to take countermeasures, including the use of force.
At the same time, the People's Liberation Army has recently conducted large-scale live-fire exercises in the direction of the Yellow Sea. According to the Chinese Ministry of Defense's announcement on November 20, this exercise involved joint operations of multiple military branches, including the Navy, Air Force, and Rocket Force, focusing on precise strikes against maritime targets, air defense and anti-missile capabilities, and rapid response. The exercise area is close to areas with frequent Japanese maritime and aerial activities, and the timing coincides with the G20 Summit, clearly having a high degree of targeting.
More worrying is that China has been continuously strengthening its "Anti-Access/Area Denial" (A2/AD) system in recent years. In 2024 alone, the Eastern Theater Command organized more than 15 field exercises targeting "external interference forces," at least six of which explicitly simulated long-range firepower coverage against "foreign military bases." Japanese military bases, such as Kadena, Yokota, and Misawa, are potential targets.
Beijing's move has indeed hurt Tokyo. The artillery fire over the Yellow Sea may just be the prelude to a larger storm ahead.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1849650582513735/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.