History lessons beckon Japan

On Oct 26, Vice-Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun briefed Chinese and foreign journalists on the Diaoyu Islands issue. Zhang said Japan asking China to choose between the Japanese government and the right-wing forces "purchasing" the islands was like giving a choice between two kinds of poison. It is absurd, and China will never accept any option that undermines its territorial sovereignty.

But the Japanese government went on to "purchased" the Diaoyu Islands and violate China's territorial sovereignty. Can China swallow this poison?

China has been committed to good-neighborly and friendly foreign policies. It has always advocated peaceful settlement of regional and international disputes through dialogue and negotiations. But China will never accept any interference in its territorial sovereignty.

Japan seems agog with the results of a war simulation that it carried out a few days ago. The war simulation reportedly showed Japan winning a battle in the East China Sea with China. China's Ministry of Defense has responded by advising Japan to reflect on the reasons that have soured Sino-Japanese relations rather than flexing its muscles in a simulated war.

War is a complex issue full of uncertain factors. Japan's simulated war is more like a "psychological war" against China. Given the respective strengths of the Chinese and Japanese navies and air forces, a war, with the odds stacked in favor of China, would be impossible for Japan to sustain.

That Japan assumes itself the winner even in a real war with China reflects its poor strategic thinking. Why? During World War II, Japan carefully planned and launched a blitzkrieg air attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii to gain a grand military victory.