“Think about it. There’s a country that has a huge arsenal of nuclear weapons and strategic bombers. Japan has neither of such weapons, and yet Japan is labelled ‘new militarism’?,” he said on Sunday, in pointed remarks aimed at China.

“Since the end of the second World War, Japan has consistently respected international law, including the Charter of the United Nations, and has made sincere efforts to maintain and strengthen a free and open international order,” he added.

In May, China’s foreign ministry called on Asia-Pacific countries to be vigilant and “jointly resist the reckless actions of Japan’s neo-militarism”.

Koizumi added he felt “sad” about not being able to meet his Chinese counterparts at the dialogue.

For the second year running, Chinese defence minister Dong Jun has given the ‌free-wheeling Singapore security meeting a miss, skipping opportunities to meet his counterparts.