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China’s military says Japan ‘breaching pacifist constitution’ with long-range missile tests
Official PLA newspaper attacks Tokyo’s increased ability to strike long-range targets and its ‘beggar-thy-neighbour’ approach to security
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Hayley Wongin Beijing
China’s military has accused Japan of undermining regional security after it tested new long-range anti-ship and hypersonic missiles.
A commentary published by the military mouthpiece People’s Liberation Army Daily on Wednesday said that the extended range of missiles would be “a real deterrent to multiple surrounding areas”.
It also argued that the increased ability to strike long-range targets was “breaking the restrictions of the pacifist constitution that the Japanese Self-Defence Forces cannot possess offensive weapons”. The constitution was imposed after Japan’s defeat in the second world war.
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The missiles were tested as part of an annual live-fire drill near Mount Fuji on Sunday.
The upgraded Type 12 surface-to-ship missiles and hypersonic Hyper Velocity Gliding Projectile (HVGP) will be deployed in Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan’s four main islands, while the HVGP may also be stationed in Hokkaido in the north, according to Japanese media reports.
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PLA Daily said the choice of location, which avoided “sensitive” segments of the first island chain such as Okinawa, was designed to minimise international criticism of Japan’s military expansion.
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