Chinese defense spokesperson slams Japan's new defense white paper as full of false narratives

A Chinese defense spokesperson on Tuesday slammed Japan's annual defense white paper for spreading false narratives and hyping a so-called security crisis in the region.

Chen Xi, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks in response to a media query regarding Japan's newly released defense white paper, which labels China's military developments an "unprecedented and the greatest strategic challenge" and claims that "China has intensified its military activities around Taiwan."

The white paper is full of false narratives and deliberately hypes a so-called security crisis in the region and the "China threat," Chen said, describing Japan's actions as "a thief crying 'Stop thief'" so as to create a pretext for its own military buildup.

China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposes such moves, he said.

Under the pretext of an "exclusively defense-oriented policy," the Japanese government is accelerating revisions to its three key security documents, continuously increasing defense spending, developing long-range offensive capabilities, and advancing the weaponization and militarization of space and the battlefield, Chen pointed out.

Japan is even portraying the expansion of its defense industry as a driver of economic growth, in an attempt to deeply embed military expansion and war preparations into its national institutions, economy, industry and public discourse, he added.

Japan's "new militarism" has become increasingly entrenched and poses a serious challenge to the postwar international order, as well as a genuine threat to regional peace and stability, Chen said.

The Taiwan question concerns China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and constitutes the political foundation of China-Japan relations. It is a red line that must not be crossed, he stressed.

Chen urged Japan to deeply reflect on its history of aggression, stop interfering in China's internal affairs, and stop misleading the Japanese public and the international community.

Japan should not go further down the wrong path of "remilitarization," Chen said.