The People’s Liberation Army
Despite the inauguration of a new Abe administration, it seems that a sense of tension with other East Asian nations is still prevalent among Japanese netizens.
This article, posted on MSN Sankei news, quickly became the most read article of the day, attracting thousands of netizen comments from all corners of the Japanese internet. Although it is not unusual for Chinese military leaders to instruct the military to prepare for war, in the Japanese media this has been portrayed as a threat to Japan, particularly in light of the recent conflict with China over the Senkaku Islands, or Diaoyu as they are known in Chinese.
From Sankei MSN:
Chinese Army General Staff Department Instruct Entire Military:’Prepare for War’ Envisioning War Against Japan…
It has been revealed that the General Staff Department which commands the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), has instructed the entire army that the army’s mission for 2013 is to ‘prepare for war’. This was reported in the January 14 edition of the military bulletin, the PLA Daily, among other places. Furthermore, state-sponsored media, such as China Central Television (CCTV) has recently broadcast special programmes on successive days that envision war with Japan, creating a sense of military tension.
Conscious of the military clash with the Japanese Self Defence Forces around the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture, there is the possibility that the new Xi Jinping leadership has begun to initiate preparations and to create the right atmosphere [for attack].
General Secretary Xi Jinping
According to the PLA Daily, in the 2013 ‘Instructions Relating to Military Training’ that the General Staff Department issued to the entire military, the difficulty level of training for units is to be increased, and to be carried out more strictly’ so that they might be able to respond in combat.
It is assumed that the leadership has taken a firm step towards preparing for war.
The PLA Daily also explained that this year’s objectives for military training were created based on important instructions by Xi Jinping, the chairman of the Central Military Commission, who took up his post in November of last year.
In addition, since the beginning of this year, major Chinese media outlets have been broadcasting programmes on consecutive days that envision a ‘Senkaku War’. Many of those involved in the military, such as the vice secretary general of the Chinese Academy of Military Sciences, Lieutenant General Luo Yuan, and the former head of the Naval Strategy Research Unit, Rear Admiral Yin Zhuo appeared in the programmes, and they continue to spread war advocacy. Virtually all of them are members of the same Princelings as General Secretary Xi, and there is a considerably possibility that they are influence by Xi’s ideas.
On the other hand, scholars who urge the resolution of the Senkaku dispute through foreign diplomacy with Japan, were hardly called by the media at all. According to one Japan scholar, at a symposium about the Senkaku issue that was recently held in Beijing, ‘The central debate tended to focus on questions of whether a war with Japan would remain on a small scale, or whether it would escalate into all-out war. Those who emphasised a small scale war were called the ‘dove faction’, and were criticised.’
According to Communist Party sources, at the Grand Party Meeting in November of last year, General Secretary Xi Jinping lost out on leadership of military personnel to a faction spearheaded by President Hu Jintao. At present, Xi is in a coalition with conservatives within the military, and by increasing military tensions with Japan, it is assumed that he is trying to increase his own centripetal force, and regain leadership.
Comments from Twitter:
のぐさん:
Having learned directly from the generation who actually experienced war, I’m looking forward to healthy, low calorie recipies like potato vines and pork broth (笑).
yuya:
Give it up, China. There’s no way you’re going to win.
むねのり:
China totally made me laugh. We were told that it was overthinking things when we anticipated a time when there’d probably be a Sino-Japanese war, but these guys are actually serious wwww
shinshin:
So we see the true war-loving nature of China. I don’t know if it’s 3000 or 4000 years, but China’s entire history has been spent in bloody battles. Should Japan really hold back against such a people? I think it’s best if we just defeat them openly through the combined forces of our diplomacy and economy.
なんでやねん:
Wow, they’re really eager to start a war. But we won’t respond to idiots. We should just lay the groundwork without fuss.
syuuji_hinata:
I wonder, are they really considering war?
相武印月齋(主馬首 滝脇藩附庸):
War is just another means of resolving an international conflict. It’s hardly surprising. Leaving whether or not they’ll actually ‘draw their swords’ aside, the commanders of the three forces are always thinking of this.
JpKalbo:
And how are things inside China? Are Japanese residents of China alright?
あん:
The Chinese military is inciting a war with Japan.
佐藤広一 :
⇒I wonder if Abe will respond.
Comments from 2ch.net:
名無しさん＠１３周年：
It’s like North Korea w
名無しさん＠１３周年：
Another 1000 fishing vessels, eh?
名無しさん＠１３周年：
China. So stupid.
名無しさん＠１３周年：
I guess this is what they mean by military first politics.
名無しさん＠１３周年：
So this is how it feels when they say ‘the country will perish’.w
名無しさん＠１３周年：
Under the Abe administration, we’re close to the US, and they have raptors and ospreys, and our own self-defense forces have quite a bit of military potential, too. Are you stupid, China?
名無しさん＠１３周年：
So, it’s ok if you’re no longer able to see Japanese porn?
名無しさん＠１３周年：
Don’t be all pathetic talk. Bring it.
名無しさん＠１３周年：
Just a second. This is of benefit to neither of us. Isn’t now the time we should start looking for a common enemy?
名無しさん＠１３周年：
Because they’re preparing for war, consumption tax will be 95%!
名無しさん＠１３周年：
Come and fight at your convenience
名無しさん＠１３周年：
Japanese are too addicted to peace. China’s for real.
名無しさん＠１３周年：
Finally, the fall of China is at hand.
