Group photo of the 2019 exchange event
Preface
Sino-Japanese relations have always been in a delicate place, and what Japan has done in recent years is obvious to the world, and the mainland's relations with them have also fallen to a freezing point.
However, Japan, which has tense relations, has recently taken the initiative to invite our military officers to visit Japan in an attempt to resume exchanges between the officers of the two countries.
Japanese army invited?
On May 10, local time, Japan's Sasakawa Peace Foundation announced an important news, saying that 20 Chinese colonel-level officers will be invited to visit Japan this year and visit a number of Self-Defense Forces bases.
This is not the first time that such an exchange activity has been interrupted and postponed due to the epidemic, and now it has been restarted, which has undoubtedly injected new vitality into military exchanges and cooperation between China and Japan.
As important countries in Asia, China and Japan have always maintained a complex and delicate relationship, and military exchanges, as one of the important ways to enhance mutual trust between the two countries, have always been valued by both sides.
The visit of Chinese military officers to Japan and the inspection of SDF bases is a concrete embodiment of the deepening exchanges and cooperation between China and Japan in the military field.
This is because it is not only the Self-Defense Forces base that I visited, but also the Komaki base in Komaki City, which is not a simple military base.
It is one of the manufacturing plants of the Japanese F35, and most of the remaining F35 fighters purchased by the Japanese army are assembled in this factory, except for a small part that are assembled from abroad.
Reference: China National Defense News, July 14, 2023 - Japan has built an F-35 engine maintenance center
The F35 fighter was researched and designed by the United States, and if you can visit the factory, you may be able to learn a lot from it.
It's just that the Japanese army is the "little brother" of the United States after all, and there is a high probability that they will not let our army visit the F35 at close range, but for the invited Chinese officers, this visit is a rare learning opportunity.
They will have the opportunity to get a close look at the equipment, training, and operational concepts of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, which will also help them improve their overall quality.
Not only that, but by visiting the Ministry of Defense and multiple SDF bases, they will also gain a deeper understanding of Japan's defense policy and military layout.
Of course, for our army, this is an event that can be visited but not visited, but for Japan, this is not the case.
Japan has been very unpeaceful recently, and they urgently need to find a new way out, and the mainland is a good helper to help them, and Sino-Japanese relations are already very tense at present, so the Japanese army urgently needs to show favor to us.
Of course, the exchange was restarted after a three-year hiatus, but it was actually launched more than 20 years ago.
Reference: Beijing Youth Net2024-05-13 - A delegation of Chinese military officers will visit Japan and inspect the Self-Defense Forces base
Officer Exchange Program
The exchange of officers at the colonel-level level between China and Japan began in 2001, when globalization was developing rapidly, the international security situation was becoming increasingly complex and changeable, and China and Japan, as important countries in Asia, were facing common challenges and opportunities.
Moreover, at that time, the mainland was still in the process of development, and it was not appropriate to be too independent, and the Japanese military proposed such activities in order to ease relations between the two countries and strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the military field.
Since the beginning of the exchange activities, China and Japan have sent colonel-level officers to each other to enhance mutual understanding and friendship through visits and exchanges.
This form of exchange will not only help enhance the overall quality and professional capability of the officers of the two countries, but also lay a solid foundation for in-depth cooperation between the two countries in the field of defense.
However, the exchange activities have not been smooth sailing, and there have been two halves by the mainland.
The first cessation occurred after the Diaoyu Dao incident, when Japan insisted that the Diaoyu Dao was Japan's territory, which had seriously threatened the mainland's territorial security.
Under these circumstances, out of consideration for safeguarding national sovereignty and dignity, the Chinese side has requested that the exchange of officers at the school level be postponed.
Of course, it is only said that it will be suspended on the surface, but in fact, it will not choose to start again until the Diaoyu Dao incident is resolved.
The second suspension was affected by the pandemic, which broke out globally in early 2020 and caused a huge blow to humanity, and China and Japan suspended exchanges in order to ensure the health and safety of personnel.
The resumption was in May this year, and the resumption of the Sino-Japanese officer-level exchange activities has been improved and perfected on the original basis.
It's just that the Japanese army's choice to restart the exchange program is not a simple exchange, but also has some other plans.
Reference: Global Network January 15, 2018 - Japanese media: China and Japan plan to restart the exchange program of young cadres Japan hopes that the next generation of Chinese elites will have a sense of closeness to Japan
Good heart Japan?
Of course, Japan would not simply invite our military officers to conduct exchanges, and if it were not for the huge difficulties that Japan is currently facing, exchange activities would probably not have resumed so soon.
Japan's economy has long faced the dilemma of low growth and low inflation, and although the government has taken a number of measures to try to stimulate economic growth, the effect has not been significant.
Not only that, but Japan is also facing a serious debt problem. In order to stimulate economic growth, the Japanese government had to continuously increase fiscal spending, which led to a sharp expansion of public debt.
At present, the size of Japan's national debt has reached a worrying level, which not only limits the government's fiscal policy space, but also increases the risk of future taxes and inflation.
In addition, its "big brother" the United States, has already caused bank failures because of economic problems, and in order to improve its own situation, the United States has begun to look everywhere for "wronged leaders" to take over, and Japan is the wronged leader.
As a result, the yen has reached an all-time low against the dollar, and may even be lower, and even though the government has poured out a lot of wealth to save the situation, it has not improved.
In addition, Japan's discharge of nuclear wastewater into the sea has aroused the world's dissatisfaction with him, and Japan is currently facing internal and external troubles that are difficult to overcome.
Therefore, in order to save itself, the Japanese army restarted exchange activities to close the relationship with the mainland and pave the way for possible activities in the future.
Of course, the exchange activities are not official activities, but only exchanges between officers, and even if our military does visit Japan, it does not mean that relations between the two countries have eased.
This is indeed a good opportunity to learn about the current situation of the Japanese army, and the Japanese army can also use advanced weapons to deter when they come to the mainland for exchanges.
Reference: People's Daily Online, April 17, 2019 - The Sasakawa Peace Foundation has created a platform for exchanges and dialogues between Chinese and Japanese colonel-level officers, and in 2019, Chinese and Japanese colonel-level officers visited each other again to carry out exchanges
epilogue
The relationship between China and Japan is very complex, and this exchange event is generally considered to be an ice-breaking node.
Whether or not to choose to break the ice needs to be carefully considered based on the situation on the mainland, and now that Japan is facing a dilemma, they are the one who needs to be anxious.
Text | ST
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