Chinese military spokesperson slams Japan over defense spending smears

BEIJING, June 25 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese military spokesperson on Thursday rebutted recent remarks by the Japanese defense minister questioning the transparency of China's defense spending, denouncing them as smears and a conspiracy theory.

Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks at a media conference, stressing that China's military spending data has always been transparent and open.

China's defense expenditure remains at a "reasonable, moderate and restrained level," Zhang said, noting that the spending has amounted to less than 1.5 percent of the country's GDP for years.

In contrast, Japan's defense budget has rapidly increased for 14 consecutive years and has reached 2 percent of its GDP, he said.

Zhang said Japan fabricated the conspiracy theory about China's military spending to divert public attention from its remilitarization attempts, and added that Japan should explain its neo-militarist tendencies to the international community.