China’s defence minister urges restraint at Beijing security forum without naming the US or Japan

A deliberately broad warning from Beijing

Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun opened the Beijing Xiangshan Forum with a call for countries to stop provocative conduct and resist coercive or zero-sum approaches to security. He also warned against militarism and historical revisionism. Dong did not identify the United States or Japan, leaving the speech framed as a general appeal even though its language closely tracked Beijing’s recent criticism of both governments.

The omission was politically significant. The forum took place amid tension over Taiwan, competing claims in the South China Sea and a deterioration in China-Japan relations. By avoiding direct accusations, Dong kept the address compatible with the conference’s consensus-building theme while still signalling the grievances that shape Chinese regional policy.

The forum is part of China’s security diplomacy

The annual gathering is Beijing’s most prominent defence-policy conference and brings military officials, former politicians and researchers together for discussions on strategic stability, regional conflicts, maritime security and military uses of emerging technology. This year’s event marked the forum’s twentieth anniversary and came shortly before a planned meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump.

Al Jazeera’s account said Dong argued that countries should resolve disputes through dialogue and avoid forcing others to choose sides. That formulation challenges US-led alliance structures without formally rejecting cooperation. It also lets Beijing present itself as a defender of multilateral stability at a time when neighbouring governments increasingly describe Chinese maritime behaviour as coercive.

Why the ambiguity matters

NATO’s own strategic analysis treats security in Europe and the Indo-Pacific as increasingly connected. An official NATO Defense College assessment says a Taiwan contingency could disrupt the global economy and draw the United States into conflict with a nuclear-armed competitor. It also highlights the pressure such a crisis would place on American forces and on allied defence planning outside Asia.

Dong announced no new military initiative and made no formal threat, so the speech does not qualify as an attack alert. Its importance lies instead in positioning: Beijing is urging restraint while retaining its claims over Taiwan and contested maritime areas. Diplomats will watch whether the softer presentation survives upcoming US-China contacts and whether China’s operational behaviour at sea matches the forum’s language about dialogue and stability.