The navies of China and Russia started the second stage of their weeklong "Joint Sea-2017"military drills in the Sea of Japan on Monday, following the first stage which was held two months ago in the Baltic Sea. The drills, held annually since 2012, will for the first time reach the Sea of Okhotsk, north of Japan's Hokkaido Island, and involve joint submarine rescue missions and antisubmarine operations.

These "firsts" and the kickoff date, which is often linked to the September 18 Incident, have drawn speculations from some media outlets. On Sept 18, 1931, Japanese soldiers triggered a blast on a railway line in Northeast China, blamed the Chinese military for it and used it as a pretext for the invasion of China.

The truth, however, is, China's naval ambitions go beyond emotional links with a painful memory. The historical issues between Beijing and Tokyo are not likely to be settled by a naval drill in the neighborhood, nor do they have anything to do with "Chinese muscle-flexing". China and Japan can truly reconcile only when the latter faces up to the crimes it committed against the Chinese people before and during World War II.