China: Regional concerns over US-Japan alliance

Chinese general Wang Guanzhong says China and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region are concerned about the consolidation of the US-Japan alliance.

His comments were made during the Shangri-la Defense Forum in Singapore. Wang Guanzhong stressed that such a military alliance was more an obstacle than an impetus for regional stability. Wang pointed to China developing its own military force to defend the country's peaceful development.

The remarks come after US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel voiced support for Japan revising its constitution to allow for the right to collective self-defense. Hagel also repeated the US position that the Diaoyu Islands, disputed by China and Japan, fall under the mutual defense treaty with Japan.

China and the US, who've exchanged bitter words over the past two days, held private talks on the sidelines of the Shangri-la Dialogue on Saturday.