BEIJING, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) — China firmly opposes Japan’s dangerous moves in the cyber field and strongly urges Japan to abide by its pacifist Constitution and uphold existing international rules and order with concrete actions, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday.”Should any improper act by Japan undermine China’s sovereignty, security and development interests, it will surely elicit a solemn response from China,” spokesperson Lin Jian said at a daily press briefing in response to Japan’s cyber offensive shift.
According to reports, the Japanese Cabinet has recently adopted a new cybersecurity strategy, authorizing the country’s police and Self-Defense Forces to take proactive countermeasures when subjected to cyberattacks.
In May this year, Japan also passed its so-called Active Cyber Defense Law, explicitly allowing the Japanese government to preemptively infiltrate or disable the network devices of alleged attackers.Lin said the Japanese Cabinet has explicitly authorized “proactive cyber countermeasures,” which constitutes a major policy shift by Japan from cyber defense to cyber offense and is another example of Japan — a defeated nation in World War II — seeking to break through the post-war international order.”China expresses grave concern over this,” Lin stressed.He said that in recent years, Japan has drastically expanded its cyber forces.
The newly introduced cybersecurity law and strategy, which are ostensibly labeled “active defense,” essentially loosen restrictions on proactive cyber offense.
Historically, Japan has repeatedly launched unprovoked invasions against other countries under the pretext of being attacked, the spokesperson added.”Japan must clarify to the international community: Does this move mean it seeks to once again break free from the constraints of international and domestic laws, extend such fallacious logic to cyberspace, and conduct preemptive ‘cyber intrusions’ under the guise of defense?” Lin said.
He stressed that cyberspace is interconnected and the interests of all countries are deeply intertwined, and that safeguarding peace and stability in cyberspace is a common responsibility of the international community.
