China accuses Japan defense minister of 'baseless' claims
Japan's Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizum delivers a speech during the fifth plenary session of the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue summit in Singapore on May 31, 2026. (Photo by MOHD RASFAN / AFP)
China accused Japan's defense minister on June 1 of spreading "baseless" claims and sowing confusion, a day after he took a veiled swipe at Beijing.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi had pledged on Sunday to keep strengthening Japan's military and warned China was expanding its capabilities without sufficient transparency.
His comments follow a months-long diplomatic spat between the Asian rivals, which began when Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested in November that Japan could intervene militarily if China attempted to seize Taiwan, the self-ruled island claimed by Beijing.
