Translated by ChatGPT, edited by Sinocism.com.

Recently, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the “enemy-state clauses” in the UN Charter, a special institutional arrangement directed at the defeated countries of World War II, remain valid. With Japan’s “new militarism” threatening peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific, fully observing the UN Charter and reaffirming the “enemy-state clauses” is highly necessary. Not long ago, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also publicly reaffirmed their legal force, stating that Japan, as an “enemy state” identified by the Charter, must face its history of aggression, abide by its legal obligations as a defeated country, and not break through the constraints of the postwar system. These solemn statements have again put this core balancing institution—one embodying humanity’s shared will in the anti-fascist war and possessing binding force under international law—under the international spotlight.

近日，中国外交部发言人表示，《联合国宪章》中“敌国条款”作为针对二战战败国的特殊制度安排，至今仍然有效。在日本“新型军国主义”给亚太和平稳定带来威胁的背景下，全面遵守《联合国宪章》，重申“敌国条款”十分必要。不久前，俄罗斯外长拉夫罗夫也公开重申“敌国条款”的法定效力，明确日本作为《联合国宪章》认定的“敌国”，须正视侵略历史、恪守战败国法理义务，不得突破战后体制约束。这一系列严正表态，再次将“敌国条款”这一凝结人类反法西斯战争共同意志、具有刚性国际法效力的核心制衡制度，置于国际社会的聚光灯下。

Japan’s admission to the United Nations was premised on acknowledging the crimes of militarism and accepting the UN Charter in its entirety, including the “enemy-state clauses.” The Charter retains these clauses, which remain valid, including Articles 53, 77, and 107. This special institutional arrangement was designed to prevent the defeated countries of World War II from again threatening international peace and security and provides an important institutional safeguard for defending the postwar international order. The clauses are not historical text that can be dismissed at will but an institutional arrangement that fortifies the legal foundation of the postwar order in three dimensions: historical responsibility, territorial order, and security checks.

日本加入联合国，是以承认军国主义罪行、接受包括“敌国条款”在内的《联合国宪章》全部内容为前提的。《联合国宪章》中至今保留着“敌国条款”，相关条款仍然有效，包括第53条、第77条和第107条。这项特殊制度安排，旨在防止二战战败国再度对国际和平与安全构成威胁，为捍卫战后国际秩序提供了重要制度保障。“敌国条款”绝非可随意否定的历史文本，而是从历史罪责、领土秩序、安全制衡三个维度筑牢战后国际秩序法理基石的制度安排。

Article 107 of the UN Charter, with the highest force of international law, permanently fixes the responsibility of fascist states for aggression, confirms the legality of Allied military action against enemy states during World War II and of postwar dispositions, and completely closes off any legal route for defeated countries to overturn the history of aggression. Article 77 clearly draws the red line of the postwar territorial order, defines the scope of Japan’s lawful territory, provides legal support for the territorial principles established in the Cairo Declaration and Potsdam Proclamation, and cuts off any attempt to legalize territory gained through aggression. Article 53 fortifies the security line: addressing the risk that an enemy state might renew expansion or breach military restrictions, it authorizes UN founding members, when necessary, to take enforcement action without the Security Council’s ordinary authorization, providing direct legal grounds and authorization for action to prevent the revival of militarism. The system as a whole targets the root causes of war and is a core legal barrier through which the international community punishes aggression and protects peace and justice.

《联合国宪章》第107条以最高国际法效力，永久锁定法西斯国家侵略罪责，确认二战期间同盟国对敌国的军事行动与战后处置的合法性，彻底封堵战败国为侵略历史翻案的法理通道。第77条明确战后领土秩序红线，界定日本法定领土范围，为《开罗宣言》《波茨坦公告》确立的领土准则提供法理支撑，斩断任何将侵略所得合法化的企图。第53条筑牢安全防线，针对敌国重启扩张、突破军事限制的风险，授权联合国创始成员国在必要时可不经安理会常规授权采取强制措施，为防范军国主义复辟提供了直接的法律依据和行动授权。整套制度直击战争根源，是国际社会惩戒侵略、守护和平正义的核心法治屏障。

In recent years, Japan’s right-wing forces have disregarded history and law while loudly peddling the claim that the “enemy-state clauses” are obsolete. Their core aim is to distort legal principles and mislead international opinion in service of denying Japan’s history of aggression, breaking through military restrictions, and challenging the postwar international order. This argument is highly deceptive and destructive and cannot withstand scrutiny in either law or reality.

近年来，日本右翼势力罔顾历史与法理，大肆鼓噪“敌国条款过时论”。其核心意图是通过曲解法理、误导国际舆论，服务其否认侵略历史、突破军事限制、挑战战后国际秩序的种种行径。这种论调极具欺骗性和破坏性，无论从法理还是现实层面审视，都完全站不住脚。

In terms of legal validity over time, the UN Charter is a fundamental norm governing international relations and a key cornerstone of the modern international order. Its authority and force are stable and unaffected by changes of era or the demands of individual countries. For more than 80 years, the United Nations has never amended, repealed, or weakened the “enemy-state clauses”; their legal force has continued unconditionally since they took effect. Calling them “obsolete” is merely Japan’s sophistry for evading its legal obligations as a defeated country and challenging the authority of the UN Charter. It seriously violates basic principles of international law and has no legitimacy.

从法理时效看，《联合国宪章》是处理国际关系的根本遵循，也是奠定现代国际秩序的重要基石，效力权威稳定、不受时代变迁或个别国家诉求影响。80余年来，联合国从未修订、废止或削弱“敌国条款”，其法律效力自生效起即无条件持续有效。所谓“过时”，不过是日本意图规避战败国法定义务、挑战《联合国宪章》权威的狡辩之词，严重违背国际法基本准则，毫无正当性。

In terms of the nature of the rules, the “enemy-state clauses” regulate systems of fascist aggression and acts of militarist expansion. They target war crimes and conduct that destroys order, not the people of any particular country. Their fundamental purpose is to constrain aggression through law, eliminate the danger of war, protect humanity’s common peace, and embody universal justice. Japanese right-wing forces deliberately distort them as “country-specific political repression,” wholly betraying the original purpose of the UN Charter.

从规则属性看，“敌国条款”规制的对象是法西斯侵略体制与军国主义扩张行径，针对的是战争罪行与破坏秩序的行为，而非特定国家民众。其根本目的是以法治约束侵略、消除战争隐患、守护人类共同和平，彰显的是国际社会的普遍正义。日本右翼势力刻意将其歪曲为“国别政治打压”，是对《联合国宪章》初心的彻底背离。

In terms of present-day value, the balancing role of the “enemy-state clauses” remains indispensable. Japan’s right-wing forces now vigorously deny aggression, falsify history, and glorify war. At the same time, Japan continues sharply increasing its defense budget, vigorously developing offensive weapons, repeatedly breaching postwar military constraints, and accelerating “remilitarization.” Japan’s “new militarism” has bared its fangs and grown into a menace. Amid a complex and severe geopolitical environment, the clauses’ value as a constraint and counterweight has not diminished but grown more prominent. They are by no means obsolete.

从现实价值看，“敌国条款”的制衡作用至今不可或缺。当前，日本右翼势力极力否认侵略、篡改历史、美化战争。同时，日本持续大幅增加防卫预算、大力发展进攻性军备，不断突破战后军事束缚，加速推进“再军事化”，日本“新型军国主义”已露出獠牙、成势为患。在复杂严峻的地缘政治形势下，“敌国条款”的约束与制衡价值非但未减，反而愈发凸显，绝无过时可言。

History must not be falsified, legal principles must not be profaned, and justice must not be challenged. Through more than 80 years of turbulence, the fruits of victory in World War II and the legal foundation of the postwar international order must not be shaken. All peace-loving forces in the international community must remain highly vigilant, build consensus, coordinate their actions, resolutely resist reckless moves by Japan’s right-wing forces, and effectively curb any sign of militarism’s revival. We urge the Japanese authorities to face history, reflect on their crimes, abandon expansionist ambitions, fulfill their international legal obligations, and firmly follow the path of peaceful development. Any perverse act that rejects international rule of law, challenges the postwar international order, or revives militarism will inevitably meet opposition from the international community and the judgment of historical justice.

历史不容篡改，法理不容亵渎，正义不容挑战！80余载风云激荡，二战胜利成果与战后国际秩序的法理根基不容动摇。国际社会所有爱好和平的力量必须高度警惕，凝聚共识，协同行动，坚决抵制日本右翼势力的冒险行径，有力遏制军国主义复辟的任何苗头。我们敦促日本当局正视历史、反省罪责，摒弃扩张野心，恪守国际法义务，坚定走和平发展道路。任何否定国际法治、挑战战后国际秩序、复活军国主义的倒行逆施，都必将遭到国际社会反对和历史正义的审判。

(The author is a distinguished professor and doctoral adviser at Wuhan University.)

（作者系武汉大学特聘教授、博士生导师）