China, Japan, and the Global South

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi waves as she departs from a RAAF base in Canberra on May 5, 2026, after a three-day official visit to Australia. (Photo by Saeed KHAN / AFP)

This week saw a notable new wrinkle in one of the key geopolitical soap operas of our time. For the first time since the Second World War, Japan launched “an offensive weapon” outside of its territory, triggering immediate fury in Beijing.

The firing of a Type 88 subsonic, mobile anti-ship missile happened as part of the Balikatan 2026 joint military exercises with the United States and the Philippines, which is explicitly framed in opposition to China’s power in the South China Sea.

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by Cobus van Staden

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