China lashes out at Pentagon's military report
China hit out yesterday at a Pentagon report on its expanding military capabilities as other Asian nations said they would be keeping a wary eye on their giant neighbour's growing might.
Beijing said the US Defence Department report was "not beneficial" for military ties between the two powers, while state media branded the dossier "aggressive" and said it exaggerated China's military power.
Geng Yansheng, spokesman for China's defence ministry, insisted his country was on a "path of peaceful development".
"Issuing this report is not beneficial for the improvement and development of Sino-US military ties," he said in a statement.
The Pentagon report to the US Congress said China's military strategists were looking to extend their reach to be able to hit targets as far away as mainland Japan, the Philippines and the US territory of Guam.
Beijing was ramping up investment in a range of areas including nuclear weapons, long-range missiles, submarines, aircraft carriers and cyber warfare, according to the report, published Monday.
Taiwan responded on Tuesday by renewing its call for the United States to sell it advanced weaponry, and joined Japan in vowing to keep a close eye on China's rising military strength.
"China has not given up the use of force against Taiwan and we are closely monitoring China's military developments. We ask the public to rest assured," Taiwan defence ministry spokesman Yu Sy-tue said.
A Japanese defence ministry spokeswoman said Tokyo would "keep paying attention to China's military trend," which it believed would "have a significant impact on security in the region."
But China demanded that Washington stop issuing such reports.
"China... firmly abides by a defensive national defence policy, does not take part in military confrontation and does not pose a military threat to any country," Geng said.
"We ask the United States... to stop remarks and behaviour that are not beneficial for mutual trust between the two militaries and Sino-US relations."
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