FM spokeswoman: Japanese comment on China's national defense irrational
( 2001-07-12 21:29 ) (8 )

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Thursday that Japan's comment on China's normal national defense building was "irrational," and China felt " regretful and dissatisfied" with the remark.

In response to a request for China's reaction to the Japanese comment in its recent defense white paper that China's armed forces have grown beyond the country's needs for self defense, Spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said it is known to all that China has always pursued an independent foreign policy of peace, and its military spending remains at a low level compared with other major big countries.

Zhang said China's limited armed forces are solely for the purpose of self defense, and pose no threat to any country.

It is irrational that the Japanese side, in such an official publication as the White Paper on National Defense, made unwarranted comments on China's normal building of national defense, Zhang said. Such an act will not contribute to the promotion of mutual understanding and trust in the field of military security either, she said.