Chinese Defence Minister Addresses Xiangshan Forum with Veiled Warnings on Militarism and Coercion

Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun inaugurated the 13th Beijing Xiangshan Forum on Wednesday by urging the international community to resist coercive practices, reject provocative conduct, and prevent the return of dangerous historical patterns. Delivering the keynote address at China’s flagship security gathering, Dong advocated for an inclusive model of global security governance while noticeably refraining from openly identifying traditional adversaries such as the United States and Japan.

In his broad-ranging opening remarks, the Chinese defence chief promoted mutual security collaboration and called for fresh mechanisms to de-escalate cross-border frictions. Rather than singling out specific nations by name, Dong utilized veiled language to criticize regional rivals, focusing his rhetoric on systemic threats to regional stability and the perils of ignoring past geopolitical mistakes.

Dong stressed that all nations must remember the harsh lessons of global history and maintain heightened alertness against emerging forms of hegemony, militarism, and historical revisionism. He warned that the international community cannot afford to overlook or tolerate such behaviors, insisting that responsible global forces must unite to suppress what he characterized as the resurgence of historical dregs.

The high-level security conference convenes during an era of significant friction across the Asia-Pacific region, characterized by simmering disputes over maritime rights in the South China Sea and heightened military activity around Taiwan. The gathering also takes place amidst shifting regional perceptions and mounting uncertainties regarding the enduring reliability of long-standing United States security commitments in Asia.

The diplomatic timing of the forum adds an additional layer of importance to Dong’s measured tone, as the summit occurs only one week ahead of a scheduled diplomatic voyage by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Washington. During that upcoming visit, Xi is expected to engage in crucial bilateral discussions with United States President Donald Trump.

Over the past two decades, Chinese authorities have methodically transformed the Beijing Xiangshan Forum into the country’s central arena for military diplomacy. The multi-day summit is carefully orchestrated by Beijing to function as a direct institutional counterpart to the Western-favored Shangri-La Dialogue held annually in Singapore.

Spanning three days of deliberations, the forum convenes hundreds of high-ranking military commanders, international diplomats, and defense scholars from across the globe. Through this extensive platform, Beijing actively promotes a multipolar international order while championing an expanded geopolitical voice and greater strategic representation for countries across the Global South.

Prior to delivering his formal keynote, Dong engaged in a busy round of bilateral defense diplomacy designed to set the stage for the wider conference. He held individual preliminary consultations with defense officials representing Myanmar, Brunei, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia, along with Kao Kim Hourn, the Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The thinly disguised warnings against historical revisionism within Dong’s address appeared primarily directed at Japan, following a severe deterioration in bilateral ties between Beijing and Tokyo over the past year. Relations soured considerably after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi publicly posited that a potential Chinese military operation against Taiwan could compel a military response from Japan, which prompted Beijing to accuse Tokyo of attempting to revive its past militaristic agenda.

Beijing maintains that the self-governed island of Taiwan constitutes an inalienable component of sovereign Chinese territory, and it has steadily increased military intimidation across the Taiwan Strait through periodic, large-scale war games. In response, authorities in Taipei continue to firmly reject Beijing’s territorial assertions and sovereignty claims.

Echoing the defensive stance against Tokyo at the forum, prominent Chinese ocean governance scholar Wu Shicun offered a stark assessment regarding Japanese regional policies. Speaking to the Chinese news agency CNS, the chairman of the Huayang Center for Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance argued that Japan’s growing strategic footprint in the South China Sea could eventually pose a greater long-term disruption to regional peace than the activities of the United States.

Wu asserted that Tokyo views the critical waterway as a strategic staging ground to project power into Southeast Asia and assert leverage over essential maritime shipping lanes. He further cautioned that Japan’s ongoing maneuvers would inflict negative consequences on regional dispute settlements, bilateral maritime cooperation initiatives, and existing consultations surrounding a regional Code of Conduct.

The three-day security summit also highlighted the differing diplomatic postures assumed by foreign attendees navigating complex international relationships. Western governments opted to maintain a lower profile by delegating mid-level representatives to the event, with the American delegation headed by senior Pentagon official Cynthia Carras.

In contrast, neighboring Southeast Asian nations seeking to maintain equilibrium between Beijing and Washington chose to dispatch their top defense leadership. Among the prominent regional delegates in attendance were Vietnamese Defence Minister Phan Van Giang and Malaysian Vice Defence Minister Adly Zahari.

The forum additionally drew participation from North Korea, with Pyongyang sending an official military contingent headed by Vice Minister of National Defence Kim Kang Il. The North Korean delegation had departed Pyongyang on Tuesday to take part in the Beijing-hosted defense summit.

Through this balanced mixture of multilateral pageantry, calculated rhetoric, and bilateral defense meetings, the Xiangshan Forum continues to serve as Beijing's primary diplomatic vehicle for projecting military resolve while carefully avoiding direct confrontations ahead of high-stakes superpower diplomacy.