China has expressed grave concern over Japan's plan to ease restrictions on arms exports, saying that the move reflects a broader shift toward a more offensive and expansionist security stance, and it has urged the international community to remain highly vigilant and firmly reject any attempt to revive militarism in Japan.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning made the remarks on Tuesday at a regular news briefing in Beijing, following reports that Japan is considering a revision of the Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology this month.

Under the current Three Principles and their implementation guidelines, which were adopted in April 2014, exports of defense equipment from Japan to other countries are limited to five categories mainly related to logistical purposes, such as rescue and transportation.

The revision will, in principle, pave the way for lethal weapons exports, create exceptions for arms exports to countries involved in conflict, and replace prior reporting to parliament with post facto notification.

Mao said that many international scholars and insightful individuals in Japan have expressed deep concern over the move, warning that it would represent a significant change in Japan's postwar arms export policy and undermine the safeguards put in place after World War II to prevent any resurgence of Japanese militarism.

The move seriously contravenes the spirit of international legal documents, such as the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation and Japan's Instrument of Surrender, and also runs counter to Japan's own Constitution and norms, she said.

Mao noted that a poll conducted previously by the Japanese government had shown that a majority of the people in Japan oppose the easing of restrictions on arms exports.

"Various signs show that the Japanese right-wing forces are pushing for a more offensive and expansionist defense policy," she said, adding that Japan's accelerated remilitarization is a reality, with clear policies and concrete actions already in place.

Such a trend poses a threat to regional peace and stability, Mao said, urging Japan to reflect earnestly on its history of militarist aggression, honor its commitments and act prudently in military and security areas, and avoid going further down the wrong path.

Xiang Haoyu, a senior research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, said that Japan's right-wing forces are using so-called "national normalization" and "independent self-defense" as excuses to steadily erode the constraints imposed by its pacifist Constitution and the postwar international order.

The move to ease arms export rules, under the pretext of responding to external threats, reflects a Cold War zero-sum mentality and serves Japan's strategic objectives of containment and confrontation, Xiang said. "If Japan fully liberalizes lethal weapons exports, the consequences will be profound and far-reaching," he added.

Such measures will heighten the risk of an arms race in the Asia-Pacific, Xiang said, emphasizing that more Japanese weapons flowing into sensitive regions are likely to fuel geopolitical tensions, create new flashpoints, and seriously damage regional peace and stability.

The proliferation of Japanese weapons will further erode the international arms control system, he warned.

"No matter how Japanese politicians attempt to justify their actions, they cannot cover up the ulterior motives and potential dangers of easing arms export rules and pursuing remilitarization," he said.

zhaojia@chinadaily.com.cn