Defense ministry slams recent US report on Chinese military development

BEIJING, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of National Defense on Saturday slammed a recent U.S. Department of Defense report on military and security developments involving China.

According to ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang, the report misinterpreted China's defense policies, speculated about China's military capacity development, flagrantly interfered in China's domestic affairs, desperately slandered the Chinese military and exaggerated the so-called military threat posed by China.

China "strongly deplores and firmly opposes" all these statements, Zhang said.

For over 20 years, the U.S. has been publishing such deceptive and hypocritical reports year after year, only seeking excuses for the development of its own military capacity and misleading public opinion, Zhang said.

"We urge the U.S. to stop fabricating false narratives, rectify the erroneous perception of China, and push for the healthy, stable development of bilateral and military relations," he said.

China adheres to the path of peaceful development and a national defense policy that is defensive in nature. However, the United States is leveraging its military strength to impose regime changes and incite "color revolutions" in other countries, causing extremely serious civilian casualties and property damage, and leading to severe humanitarian disasters, the spokesperson said.

"The 'war-addicted' United States has become the biggest destroyer of international order and the greatest threat to global security," said Zhang.

On China's development of nuclear weapons, Zhang said that the intention is to safeguard the country's strategic security. But the United States, which has the largest and most advanced nuclear arsenal in the world, sticks stubbornly to the policy of first use of nuclear weapons, undermining international and regional peace and stability. He called on the U.S. to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in its national and collective security policy to respond responsibly to the international community.

On the Taiwan question, the spokesperson stressed that it is the first red line that cannot be crossed in China-U.S. relations, and that the Chinese military's recent exercise carried out near Taiwan had targeted external interference and the provocations of "Taiwan independence" forces. The United States, however, continues to sell arms to Taiwan, which seriously violates the one-China principle and could lead to conflict or war.

Zhang urged the U.S. to come to terms with the extremely dangerous nature of "Taiwan independence" separatism, cease any official interaction or military contact with Taiwan, and stop conniving with and supporting "Taiwan independence" forces.

He also expressed the hope that the U.S. would adopt a more positive, rational attitude toward China and the development of the Chinese military, and create bonds between the Chinese and U.S. militaries that do not involve conflict or confrontation but champion openness, pragmatism and cooperation, and gradually accumulate mutual trust.