South China Sea East China Sea Military Diplomacy

Ministry of National Defense: Urges Relevant Countries to Stop Forming Cliques and Engaging in Bloc Confrontation

国防部：敦促有关国家停止拉帮结伙搞阵营对抗

PLA Daily (解放军报) 9 May 2026

Summary

MND spokesperson Senior Colonel Jiang Bin on May 9 condemned a joint statement by Japan's Defense Minister and the Philippines' Defense Secretary opposing coercive changes to the status quo in the East China Sea and South China Sea, calling it a 'false narrative' and warning against 'forming cliques and engaging in bloc confrontation.' Jiang's explicit criticism of Japan for firing offensive missiles outside its territory and breaking with its 'exclusively defensive defense' posture signals Beijing's intent to frame Japan's evolving defense policy as a destabilizing provocation rather than a legitimate security response—a framing that serves PRC diplomatic efforts to complicate U.S.-Japan-Philippines trilateral coordination. The statement follows a standard pattern of PRC pushback against allied defense cooperation in the Indo-Pacific but is notable for its direct invocation of Japan's constitutional defense doctrine as a rhetorical pressure point.

Translation

On the afternoon of May 9, Senior Colonel Jiang Bin, Deputy Director of the Ministry of National Defense News Bureau and Ministry of National Defense spokesperson, released a statement on recent military-related issues.

Reporter: According to reports, Japan's Defense Minister and the Philippines' Defense Secretary issued a joint statement opposing any "unilateral attempt to change the status quo in the East China Sea and South China Sea by force or coercion," and expressed serious concern over China's "dangerous and coercive" actions in the vicinity of Japan and the Philippines. The two sides also agreed to strengthen defense cooperation in areas including equipment technology and information sharing. What is your comment on this?

Jiang Bin: Certain politicians in Japan and the Philippines are hyping up false narratives on maritime issues and smearing China without cause. We are strongly dissatisfied with and resolutely opposed to this. The relevant parties, disregarding the shared desire of regional countries for peace and development, and ignoring the opposition of their own peoples, are strengthening military collusion to pursue private interests, thereby aggravating regional tensions. Japan has dispatched troops to participate in joint exercises and for the first time fired offensive missiles outside its own territory, deliberately breaking through the principle of "exclusively defensive defense (専守防衛)," while the Philippines is attempting to rope in extra-regional forces to back up its rights-infringing actions and then turn around and blame China—this is a completely mistaken calculation. The Chinese military's resolve to safeguard its own territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests is unwavering. We urge the relevant countries to stop forming cliques and engaging in bloc confrontation (拉帮结伙搞阵营对抗), and to do more that genuinely contributes to regional peace and stability.

Original Chinese

5月9日下午，国防部新闻局副局长、国防部新闻发言人蒋斌大校就近期涉军问题发布消息。记者：据报道，日本防卫大臣与菲律宾防长发表联合声明称，反对任何“单方面企图以武力或胁迫手段改变东海和南海现状”行为，对中国在日菲周边“危险胁迫”表示严重关切。双方还将在装备技术、信息共享等领域加强防务合作。请问对此有何评论？蒋斌：日菲某些政客在涉海问题上炒作虚假叙事，无端抹黑中国，我们对此强烈不满、坚决反对。有关方面无视地区国家求和平、谋发展的共同愿望，不顾本国民众反对，为谋取私利加强军事勾连，加剧地区局势紧张。日方派兵参加联合演习并首次在境外发射进攻型导弹，蓄意突破“专守防卫”原则，菲方企图拉域外势力为其侵权行径撑腰打气，还想对中方倒打一耙，完全是打错了算盘。中国军队维护自身领土主权和海洋权益的决心坚定不移。我们敦促有关国家停止拉帮结伙搞阵营对抗，多做真正有利于地区和平稳定的事。