China urges Japan to reflect on its war crime and stop exaggerating tensions in the region and peddling issues concerning China, said Guo Jiakun, a spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at a press conference held in Beijing on Tuesday.
Japan's Defense Ministry on Monday set out its first guidelines aimed at enhancing its defense in outer space, citing the need to bolster capabilities in response to advanced satellite developments by neighboring countries.
Responding to a media query regarding this issue, Guo reiterated China's opposition on Japan's attempt to build up its military strength by peddling the narrative of threats from other countries.
"China is committed to the peaceful use of outer space and opposes any arms race in outer space or weaponizing it. China actively strives for negotiations for legal instruments on space arms control, and calls for the building of a community with a shared future for humanity in outer space. China firmly opposes Japan’s attempt to create a pretext for its own military buildup by peddling the narrative of threats from other countries," said Guo.
"In recent years, Japan has increased defense spending annually and moved further down the path of military expansion. In outer space, Japan, the U.S. and other Western countries have kept expanding military cooperation and used 'defense' as a pretext to develop and deploy space weapons. These measures threaten the security and stability of outer space and trigger the concerns of neighboring countries on the reviving militarism," he said.
"This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. We urge Japan to take a hard look at its responsibility for the war crimes, draw lessons from history, stop hiding its true intention of military buildup by acting as a scaremonger in the region and peddling the issues related to China, and earn the trust of its Asian neighbors and the international community with concrete actions," said the spokesman.
China urges Japan to reflect on its war crime: spokesman
