China’s defence chief warns against coercion, avoids US, Japan mention

Dong Jun pitches shared security governance and military cooperation while warning against coercion and regressive historical trends at the Beijing Xiangshan Forum.

Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun and other military officials arrive for the Xiangshan Forum in Beijing, China, on September 16, 2026 [Florence Lo/Reuters]

Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun has said that countries around the world should cease provocative acts and check the resurgence of regressive historical trends.

Dong made his remarks, likely to be taken as veiled criticism of Japan, on Wednesday while opening the 13th Beijing Xiangshan Forum. In a broad speech, he urged a fresh, more inclusive approach to resolving international tensions, though he offered few specifics or any direct criticisms of rivals.

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“We must bear the lessons of history in mind and remain highly vigilant against all latent manifestations of hegemony, militarism and historical revisionism,” Dong said.

“We must not turn a blind eye or condone such behaviour. By rallying broad-based forces of justice, we must suppress the resurgence of historical dregs,” he added.

The forum is being held amid heightened regional tensions over Taiwan and the disputed South China Sea, as well as growing doubts about traditional US security commitments to Asia.

It also comes a week before an expected trip by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Washington to meet US President Donald Trump.

Dong’s address built on comments made earlier while meeting visiting foreign guests. In separate sit-downs with defence officials from Myanmar, Brunei, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia, as well as ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn, Dong pitched a vision of deeper military cooperation and shared security as an immediate curtain-raiser for the forum.

Over the past two decades, Beijing has carefully built the Xiangshan Forum into its primary platform for military diplomacy, positioning it as a tightly scripted alternative to Singapore’s Shangri-La Dialogue.

Bringing together hundreds of military officers, diplomats and scholars from dozens of countries, the three-day gathering provides China with a high-profile stage to champion a multipolar world and advocate for a greater voice for the Global South.

As some analysts predicted, Dong did not make direct criticisms of the United States or its regional allies, including Japan.

Ties between China and Japan plummeted after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi last year suggested a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a Japanese military response, prompting repeated warnings from Beijing that Japan is seeking a return to its aggressive past.

China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has ramped up military pressure around the island, including periodically staging war games. Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s claims of sovereignty.

Earlier, a Chinese scholar attending the forum warned that Japan’s growing involvement in the South China Sea could undermine regional peace over the long term.

“I think that, from a longer-term perspective, Japan could be more damaging to peace and stability in the South China Sea than the United States,” Wu Shicun, chairman of the Huayang Center for Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance, told the Chinese news agency CNS.

Wu warned that Japan fixates on the waterway as a springboard to attack and invade Southeast Asia, and to control sea lanes. He added that Tokyo’s actions would have a series of negative effects on dispute resolution, maritime cooperation and consultations on a Code of Conduct, stressing that regional states must remain vigilant about this.

A delegation from North Korea’s Ministry of National Defence, led by Vice Minister Kim Kang Il, departs for China to attend the 13th Beijing Xiangshan Forum, in Pyongyang on September 15, 2026 [KCNA/Reuters]

For visiting foreign envoys, navigating the forum involves balancing complex regional dynamics. Western governments have largely dispatched lower-level representatives, with the US contingent led by senior Pentagon official Cynthia Carras.

Meanwhile, neighbouring countries attempting to manage ties between Washington and Beijing sent top defence leadership, including Vietnamese Defence Minister Phan Van Giang and Malaysian Vice Defence Minister Adly Zahari. A delegation from North Korea’s Ministry of National Defence, led by Vice Minister Kim Kang Il, is also attending, according to KCNA.

董军在北京香山论坛上提出共同安全治理和军事合作，同时警告不要采取胁迫手段和倒退的历史趋势。

2026年9月16日，中国国防部长董军及其他军方官员抵达北京，出席象山论坛。[Florence Lo/路透社]

中国国防部长董军表示，世界各国应停止挑衅行为，遏制倒退历史潮流的复燃。

董建华周三在第十三届北京香山论坛开幕式上发表了讲话，这番言论很可能被视为对日本的隐晦批评。他在讲话中呼吁以全新的、更具包容性的方式解决国际紧张局势，但并未提供具体细节，也未对任何对手进行直接批评。

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共和党国会议员呼吁弹劾美国国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯（名单共3人，此为第2人）

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“我们必须牢记历史教训，对霸权主义、军国主义和历史修正主义的一切潜在表现保持高度警惕，”董说。

“我们绝不能对这种行为视而不见或予以纵容。我们必须团结各方正义力量，遏制历史败类的死灰复燃，”他补充道。

此次论坛召开之际，正值台湾和南海争议地区局势高度紧张，以及人们对美国对亚洲的传统安全承诺日益产生怀疑之时。

此外，此次访问也正值中国国家主席习近平预计访问华盛顿与美国总统唐纳德·特朗普会晤的前一周。

董建华的讲话建立在他此前会见来访外国嘉宾时所作的表态之上。在分别与缅甸、文莱、白俄罗斯、阿塞拜疆、吉尔吉斯斯坦和亚美尼亚的国防官员以及东盟秘书长高金鸿的会晤中，董建华阐述了深化军事合作和共享安全的愿景，以此作为论坛的开篇。

过去二十年来，北京精心打造了香山论坛，使其成为军事外交的主要平台，并将其定位为新加坡香格里拉对话的精心策划的替代方案。

为期三天的会议汇聚了来自数十个国家的数百名军官、外交官和学者，为中国提供了一个高规格的平台，倡导多极世界，并为全球南方国家争取更大的话语权。

正如一些分析人士预测的那样，董建华并没有直接批评美国或其地区盟友，包括日本。

去年，日本首相高市早苗暗示，如果中国对台湾发动假想的攻击，日本可能会做出军事回应，此后中日关系急剧恶化，北京方面多次警告称，日本正试图重拾其侵略性的过去。

中国视民主治理的台湾为其领土的一部分，并加大了对台湾的军事压力，包括定期举行军事演习。台湾政府拒绝接受北京对台湾的主权声索。

此前，一位出席论坛的中国学者警告说，日本在南海日益增长的参与可能会从长远来看破坏地区和平。

“我认为，从长远来看，日本对南海和平稳定的破坏性可能比美国更大，”华阳海洋合作与海洋治理中心主任吴世存告诉中国新闻社（CNS）。

吴钊燮警告说，日本将这条水道视为攻击和入侵东南亚、控制海上航道的跳板。他补充说，东京的行动将对争端解决、海上合作和行为准则磋商产生一系列负面影响，并强调区域各国必须对此保持警惕。

2026年9月15日，朝鲜国防部副部长金康日率领代表团从平壤启程前往中国，参加第十三届北京香山论坛。[朝中社/路透社]

对于来访的外国使节而言，参加此次论坛意味着要权衡复杂的区域局势。西方各国政府大多派遣了级别较低的代表，美国代表团由五角大楼高级官员辛西娅·卡拉斯率领。

与此同时，试图调和华盛顿和北京之间关系的邻国派出了高级国防领导人，包括越南国防部长潘文江和马来西亚国防部副部长阿德利·扎哈里。据朝中社报道，朝鲜国防部副部长金康日率领的代表团也出席了会议。