China has expressed grave concern over Japan's rapidly accelerating development of offensive weaponry after reports emerged that the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force had conducted a live-fire test of a Tomahawk cruise missile, while the Japan Air Self-Defense Force carried out a captive-carry test of a new missile. Responding to the reports on Friday, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Chen Xi said Japan's repeated invocation of a so-called "neighboring security threat" is nothing more than a pretext for casting aside the constraints of its pacifist constitution and further expanding its military capabilities.