The Chinese and Russian militaries have launched several rounds of strategic cruises, each time with Japan as a key target. Last weekend, four warships of the Chinese and Russian fleets arrived near Japan's Kyushu Island, passed through the Osumi Strait, and entered the Pacific Ocean to carry out follow-up patrol missions, and the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force hurriedly responded. At the same time, the former Japanese prime minister acknowledged that China is strong, stressing that China's national strength will be equal to that of the United States, and Japan must not clash with China, otherwise no matter what the outcome, it will be destroyed.
Immediately after the conclusion of the SCO summit, the Chinese and Russian militaries launched the fourth joint strategic patrol in the Asia-Pacific region. The Russian Pacific Fleet dispatched a "22350" class frigate "Perfect", and the mainland Navy dispatched one 052D destroyer "Yinchuan", one 054 frigate "Hengshui", and the Weishanhu integrated supply ship.
According to the plan, the Chinese and Russian militaries will practice joint anti-submarine, air defense, and maritime search and rescue. Last weekend, the press service of the Russian Pacific Fleet pointed out that the joint fleet of China and Russia had completed a rendezvous in the waters near Jeju Island, passed through the Osumi Strait, and entered the Pacific Ocean for follow-up exercises.
Located in the southern part of Japan's island of Kyushu, the Osumi Strait is an important strait in the so-called "First Island Chain", through which the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet often passes. In order to facilitate the navigation of the US military, Japan's territorial waters law stipulates that the waters of the five straits, including the Osumi Strait, the Soya Strait, and the Tsugaru Strait, are designated sea areas, and Japan's territorial waters in these waters are three nautical miles wide and the central part is an international shipping lane, so that ships of various countries can pass through harmlessly.
Since this waterway can be taken by the US military, the Chinese and Russian armies can also take it. As a matter of fact, in recent years, the Chinese and Russian militaries have traveled through these important straits in Japan, and the most uncomfortable thing for Japan is the passage through the Tsugaru Strait. The Tsugaru Strait is only 24-40 kilometers wide and is located between the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido, so that residents on both sides of the strait can even see the land on the other side with the naked eye on a good day.
In October 2021, Chinese and Russian warships sailed through the Tsugaru Strait together for the first time, causing a stir in Japan. Today, Japan has become accustomed to a certain extent to the joint strategic patrols of China and Russia, and when the Chinese and Russian warships approached Kyushu Island, Japanese public opinion reacted mediocrely, and the former Japanese prime minister even reflected on Japan's international status.
According to the observer network, from July 5 to 7, the 12th World Peace Forum was held in Beijing, and former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama delivered a speech at the meeting, saying that China and the United States are not currently in a "new Cold War", China is not Japan when the bubble economy burst, nor is it a former Soviet Union country after the end of the Cold War, the competition between China and the United States will continue for a long time, and China's national strength will be evenly matched with the United States in the future.
In his view, Japan is a middle power, has a US military base within its borders, and is located between China and the United States, so it can act as a bridge between China and the United States and ease tensions between China and the United States, which is most in Japan's national interests. In the event of a conflict with China, regardless of the outcome, all parties "will suffer a catastrophe," so preventing the outbreak of war must be Japan's national strategy.
We can see that Yukio Hatoyama has a unique positioning for Japan's national strength, that is, a "middle power" that cannot compete with China and the United States. In recent years, some Japanese people have become aware of the changes in the balance of power in East Asia and have begun to admit that the idea of "helping the United States contain China and then make Japan become 'Asia's No. 1'" is unrealistic.
In fact, during the years that Fumio Kishida served as Japan's prime minister, Japan's situation can be described as "getting worse". In the first half of this year, the yen depreciated sharply against the dollar, the yuan and other currencies again. If Japan's GDP is measured in dollars, Japan's GDP is at the same level today as it was 40 years ago.
In this sense, Japan has lost 40 years, rather than "20 or 30 years" as some media have claimed. Moreover, with the continuous increase of the mainland's military power, the strength of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces has been left far behind. Once upon a time, we were still envious of Japan's "88th Fleet".
Today, our army has more than 50 destroyers alone, including first-rate warships such as the 0.55 million ton drive, and the comprehensive combat power of the 052D destroyer is also quite strong. Now looking at the "Atago-class" and "Maya-class" destroyers of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, we will feel that this is a castrated version of the US "Arleigh Burke-class" warships, with relatively backward radar facilities and insufficient air and sea attack capabilities, and are jokingly called the "anti-submarine group" of the United States in the western Pacific region by netizens.
It is worth mentioning that Yukio Hatoyama is a friend of the mainland and has apologized many times for Japan's invasion of China. As for the Fumio Kishida government, if it tries to provoke and intervene in regional disputes, it will only make Japan pay an unbearable price.