Beijing’s ‘Militarist’ Label for Japan Fits China Instead, Defense Experts Say

Taiwanese defense scholars said China’s surging budget, opaque spending, and fast-expanding nuclear arsenal make it, not Japan, the region’s true militarist.

Japan's Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi delivers a speech during the fifth plenary session of the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore on May 31, 2026. Mohd Rasfan/AFP via Getty Images

After China’s delegation to Asia’s top defense forum accused Japan of sliding back toward “militarism,” a group of Taiwanese defense scholars said the label fits Beijing better when comparing the two countries’ militaries.

The exchange took place at the Shangri-La Dialogue, the annual security summit held in Singapore from May 29 to 31. Maj. Gen. Meng Xiangqing, who led China’s delegation, questioned whether Japan was fit to talk about defense cooperation at all, tying his remarks to the 80th anniversary of the postwar tribunal that prosecuted Japan’s wartime leaders.