China slams Japanese defense white paper

Beijing said on Friday that it was strongly dissatisfied and resolutely opposed to the Japanese defense white paper for 2024, urging Japan to follow peaceful development and not to make excuses for its military buildup.

The Japanese Defense Ministry said in its annual white paper on Friday that joint military activities around Japan by China and Russia are of "grave concern". The paper also said that it seems China intends to make increased military activities around the Taiwan region.

"The latest version of Japan's defense white paper interferes in China's internal affairs brutally, harps on the same string of 'China threat', and hypes up regional tension," China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a regular press briefing.

China follows a path of peaceful development and pursues a national defense policy that is defensive in nature, Lin said.

The country's defense construction and military activities are legitimate and reasonable, Lin said, adding that its joint cruises with other countries are in line with international law and common practices.

The spokesman said Japan, which used to invade and exercise colonial rule over Taiwan, is in no position to make unwarranted remarks on the Taiwan question.

The root cause to tensions across the Taiwan Strait in recent years is that "Taiwan independence" separatists, connived at by external forces, have been attempting to promote their separatist activities by any means possible, Lin said.

The spokesman went on to say that in recent years, Japan has drastically readjusted its defense policy and kept increasing its defense budget and loosening its restrictions on arms export to seek military breakthroughs, which has sparked serious concerns.

"We urge Japan to deeply reflect on the crimes of aggression it has made in history, stick to a path of peaceful development and stop finding excuses for strengthening its military forces," he said.