The Yomiuri Shimbun
Xi shows Chinese military might at home, abroad / Distortion of history by China, ROK unacceptable
抗日戦勝７０年 習氏が内外に誇示する軍事力
China’s display of military might is symbolic of its arms expansion policy and threatens regional stability. The administration of Chinese President Xi Jinping must exercise self-restraint in challenging the international order.
中韓の「歴史歪曲」は容認できぬ
強大な軍事力の誇示は中国の軍拡路線を象徴するもので、地域の安定を脅かす。習近平政権は戦後の国際秩序に挑戦する行動を自制すべきだ。
A 70th anniversary ceremony and military parade marking China’s “victory in the War of Resistance against Japan” were held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Thursday. “This great triumph crushed the plot of Japanese militarists,” Xi said in his speech.
「抗日戦争勝利７０年」の記念行事と軍事パレードが３日、北京の天安門広場周辺で行われた。習国家主席は「この偉大な勝利で、日本の軍国主義のたくらみを徹底的に粉砕した」などと演説した。
China said the anniversary events were “not targeted at Japan as it is today.” However, it is crystal clear that they were intended as part of anti-Japan propaganda activities.
中国は、記念行事は「今日の日本を標的にしていない」と説明してきたが、対外的な「反日宣伝」活動の一環であるのは明白だ。
Abe’s absence right
首相の不参加は適切だ
Excessively highlighting the past and eliminating future-oriented elements would hinder the improvement of Japan-China relations.
過去に過度に焦点を当て、和解や未来志向の要素を排することは日中関係の改善に逆行する。
It was proper for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to decline a request to attend the anniversary events.
安倍首相が行事への出席要請を断ったのは、妥当である。
China held a celebration on Sept. 3, 1945, the day after Japan signed its instrument of surrender. Last year, the Xi administration officially designated that date as “the day to celebrate the victory of the war of resistance against Japan.” Thursday’s parade was China’s first since October 2009, when it celebrated the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and the first of its kind to mark the country’s “victory against Japan.”
中国は、日本が降伏文書に署名した１９４５年９月２日の翌３日に祝賀行事を開いた。習政権は昨年、法律でもこの日を「抗日戦勝記念日」と定めた。軍事パレードは建国６０年の２００９年１０月以来で、抗日行事では初めてだ。
Xi probably wants to stir up patriotism by emphasizing both China’s status as “a victorious nation” and its “military power,” and thereby strive to maintain the political leadership of his administration.
習氏は、「戦勝国」や「強軍」をアピールすることを通じて国民の愛国心を煽あおり、政権の求心力を維持したいのだろう。
About 12,000 officers and soldiers participated in Thursday’s parade, which is said to have been China’s biggest ever. About 200 aircraft, including the latest types of early-warning planes and fighter jets, and domestically produced weapons such as cruise and ballistic missiles, were on display.
パレードには、将兵約１万２０００人が参加した。最新の早期警戒機や戦闘機など航空機約２００機、巡航ミサイルや弾道ミサイルなど国産兵器も続々と登場した。過去最大規模とされる。
Worthy of note was China’s first public showing of its new intercontinental ballistic missiles, which are capable of reaching the U.S. mainland. Coupled with the fact that Xi made no reference in his commemorative speech to the role played by the United States during World War II, this suggests China intends to eliminate Washington from the Asian order.
注目すべきは、米本土を射程に収める新型の大陸間弾道ミサイル（ＩＣＢＭ）を初公開したことだ。演説で、第２次大戦で米国が果たした役割を無視したのと合わせ、アジア秩序から米国を排除しようという意図もうかがえる。
During a meeting with Lien Chan, a former leader of Taiwan’s ruling Nationalist Party (Kuomintang), Xi mentioned that both the Chinese Communist Party and the Nationalist Party “contributed significantly to the victory in the war of resistance against Japan,” thereby acknowledging the Nationalist Party’s role in the war.
習氏はまた、台湾与党・国民党の連戦・元主席との会談で、共産党と国民党が「ともに抗日勝利に重要な貢献をした」と述べ、国民党の役割を認めた。
At the time it was engaged in war with Japan, China was largely under the rule of the Nationalist Party. Concluding the victory as one gained by the whole of China is likely intended to emphasize the legitimacy of the communist administration. Isn’t this a distortion of history?
日中戦争当時の中国は、主として国民党の統治下にあった。中華民族全体の勝利と位置付けることにより、共産党政権の正統性を強調するつもりなのだろう。この論理は歴史の歪曲わいきょくではないか。
Heads of state and leaders from more than 20 nations, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and South Korean President Park Geun-hye, attended the ceremony and the parade. Leaders from Japan, the United States and major European nations skipped the events.
行事とパレードには、ロシアのプーチン大統領や韓国の朴槿恵大統領ら２０か国余の元首・首脳が出席した。日本のほか、欧米主要国首脳は参加を見送った。
Attendance at the parade could be interpreted as giving approval to China’s military buildup. Part of the reason many nations did not send a leader is that the parade was held in Tiananmen Square, the site of a crackdown on pro-democracy protests.
パレード出席は、中国の軍備増強を容認したと解されかねない。会場が民主化運動を弾圧した天安門事件の現場である点も、不参加の背景にあろう。
Putin was the only leader from the other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council to attend the parade. If anything, this highlighted how China and Russia stand apart from other nations. Both have strengthened their dictatorial systems, and they will not elicit much sympathy even as they profess “victory in the anti-fascist war.”
国連安保理常任理事国の首脳ではプーチン氏しか参加せず、かえって中露の異質さが際立った。独裁体制を一段と強めている国が「反ファシズム戦争勝利」を標榜ひょうぼうしても、共感は得られまい。
Ban lacking neutrality
中立性欠く潘国連総長
We felt the attendance of U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon at the ceremony was problematic. Ban, who also attended a Russian ceremony commemorating “the 70th anniversary of the victory over Germany,” justified his participation by saying he has taken part in various events marking the end of World War II.
問題なのは、潘基文・国連事務総長が出席したことである。ロシアの「対ドイツ戦勝７０年記念式典」にも参加した潘氏は「終戦７０年を記念する様々な行事に出席している」などと正当化している。
We wonder if this sends a message of approval for the actions of China and Russia as they seek to unilaterally change the status quo in the East China and South China seas, and in Ukraine. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga was quite right to show concern and say that the United Nations “should keep a neutral position.”
これでは、東・南シナ海とウクライナで一方的な現状変更を図る中露の行動を容認するメッセージにならないか。菅官房長官が「国連は中立であるべきだ」と懸念を示したのは、当然だろう。
China is South Korea’s largest trading partner. Park’s attendance at the parade indicates that she has to give greater weight to ties with Beijing as South Korea’s economic dependence on it grows.
朴氏のパレード出席には、韓国の最大の貿易相手で、経済依存を強める中国を重視せざるを得ない事情があろう。
During talks with Xi held before the parade, Park said, “[Our] two countries together underwent a time of great adversity during the past century.” This was affirmation of Xi’s comment that the peoples of both nations had fought against Japanese aggression.
朴氏はパレードに先立って習氏と会談し、「前世紀、両国は困難な歴史を共にした」と語った。両国民が日本の侵略と闘ったという習氏の発言を肯定するものだ。
This once again gave the impression that South Korea is tending to side with China on issues of history.
歴史問題を巡る韓国の中国傾斜が改めて印象づけられた。
Park will travel to Shanghai, where she will attend a commemorative event for the office building of “the provisional government of the Republic of Korea,” a site regarded as a stronghold of the independence movement.
朴氏は上海で、独立運動の拠点とされる「大韓民国臨時政府」庁舎の記念行事にも出席する。
Closer ties on security
朴氏の接近は安保でも
Does Park want to close her eyes to the fact that Japan and South Korea did not fight against each other, and emphasize the self-flattering historical perception that the independence movement achieved liberation from Japanese colonial rule?
韓国は日本と戦っていないという事実に目をつぶり、独立運動で植民地支配からの解放を勝ち取ったという独善的な歴史認識を強調したいのだろうか。
South Korea’s leader attended these events even though Seoul is an ally of Washington. Their alliance has its origins in the United States fighting alongside South Korea in the Korean War, in which China stood on the North Korean side.
韓国は米国の同盟国でありながら出席した。同盟の原点は、中国が北朝鮮側に立った朝鮮戦争で米国が韓国と共闘したことだ。
It appears China’s extension of assistance to ease recent tensions between the Koreas has shaken South Korea’s position and, in the national security field, Seoul is straying from its previous path.
最近の南北の緊張緩和に力を貸した中国に揺さぶられ、安全保障分野でも迷走しているのではないか。
Japan and the United States must increase their vigilance against attempts to drive a wedge between cooperation among Tokyo, Washington and Seoul.
日米韓の連携にくさびを打とうとする動きに、日米は改めて警戒を強めねばならない。
Xi and Park have agreed to hold talks with Abe as early as late October in South Korea. It is highly possible that Abe and Park will hold their first talks at this gathering. It is vital that Japan pursues strategic and productive summit diplomacy.
習、朴の両氏は、１０月末にも韓国で日中韓首脳会談を開くことで一致した。その際には、安倍首相と朴氏の初の会談も行われる可能性が大きい。日本は、戦略的かつ生産的な首脳外交を展開することが大切である。
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Sept. 4, 2015)
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