Japan's build-up of its military capabilities is posing an "obvious" and long-term challenge to Russia, Nikolay Nozdrev, the head of the Third Asian Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said on Thursday, adding that Moscow was closely monitoring Tokyo's actions
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd August, 2023) Japan's build-up of its military capabilities is posing an "obvious" and long-term challenge to Russia, Nikolay Nozdrev, the head of the Third Asian Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said on Thursday, adding that Moscow was closely monitoring Tokyo's actions.
"All these events are posing an obvious and, unfortunately, long-term challenge for both the security of our Far Eastern borders, and in general for the situation with strategic stability in the Asia-Pacific region," Nozdrev told Russian broadcaster RTVI.
The diplomat also said that Moscow was closely monitoring Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida administration's actions that indicated "an unequivocal refusal of the peaceful development policy that has been promoted for decades."
Nozdrev added that Tokyo was currently taking concrete steps toward "putting the country on an accelerated track of militarization."
In December 2022, the Japanese government approved three key defense documents, confirming its plans to increase military spending to 2% of GDP by 2027 and to allow retaliatory strikes on enemy bases.
