Dong Jun warns against coercion, avoids naming US and Japan — SkimNews
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- Dong Jun warned that countries must remain vigilant against 'latent manifestations of hegemony, militarism and historical revisionism' and 'suppress the resurgence of historical dregs' in his opening address to the Beijing Xiangshan Forum.
- Dong avoided any direct mention of the United States or Japan despite analyst predictions, though his references to militarism and provocative acts were widely read as veiled criticism of Japan.
- The forum opened one week before an expected Xi Jinping trip to Washington to meet President Donald Trump, with regional tensions elevated over Taiwan and the South China Sea.
- Chinese scholar Wu Shicun told state news agency CNS that Japan could be 'more damaging to peace and stability in the South China Sea than the United States' over the longer term, accusing Tokyo of viewing the waterway as a springboard to attack Southeast Asia.
- Western governments dispatched lower-level officials — the US delegation was led by Pentagon official Cynthia Carras — while Vietnam, Malaysia and North Korea (Vice Minister Kim Kang Il) sent higher-ranking defense leadership to the three-day gathering.
- Dong pitched shared security governance and deeper military cooperation in separate meetings with defense officials from Myanmar, Brunei, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia and ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn ahead of his keynote.
Why it matters: The forum is China's showcase rival to the Shangri-La Dialogue, and Dong's deliberate silence on the US and Japan — just days before the Xi-Trump summit — signals Beijing wants to avoid inflaming ties with Washington or Tokyo while still framing its security vision. The contrast between Western downgrades and high-level attendance from Vietnam, Malaysia, and North Korea underscores which capitals Beijing still expects to court.
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