Chinese defense spokesperson warns against Japan's remilitarization

A Chinese defense spokesman on Tuesday called on peace-loving people to stay highly vigilant and take firm actions to curb Japan's reckless neo-militarist moves.

Chen Xi, a spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks in response to a media query about Tokyo framing China as "an unprecedented and greatest strategic challenge" in its 2026 defense white paper, while pursuing long-range strike capabilities. "The Japanese side has repeatedly peddled the so-called 'China military threat' narrative, deliberately stoked confrontation, and created security anxieties. The reason it has done all these things is to fabricate excuses for breaking free from restrictions on its defense forces and for seeking massive military buildup. The Japanese side repeats its attacks and smears against China in this so-called white paper, which is not worth any comments," said Chen.

"As a matter of fact, those who are claiming to be threatened are the real source of threat. Japan has drastically hiked its defense spending, eased restrictions on exports of lethal weapons, pushed forward the deployment of intermediate and long-range missiles, expanded offensive military capabilities, promoted the revision of its pacifist Constitution, and even clamored to be a war-capable nation. Japan is becoming a powder keg for the Asia-Pacific region with its accelerated remilitarization. Peace-loving people need to stay highly vigilant and take firm actions to curb the reckless moves of Japanese neo-militarism, prevent it from wreaking havoc across the world, and defend the post-war international order and enduring peace," said the spokesman.

The U.S. dollar strengthened in late trading on Thursday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, gained 0.75 percent to 100.846 at 3 p.m. (1900 GMT).

In late New York trading, the euro declined to 1.1459 dollars from 1.1539 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound decreased to 1.3203 dollars from 1.3338 dollars in the previous session.

The U.S. dollar bought 161.68 Japanese yen, higher than 160.50 Japanese yen in the previous session. The U.S. dollar was up to 0.8051 Swiss francs from 0.7971 Swiss francs, and it rose to 1.4140 Canadian dollars from 1.4071 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar added to 9.5874 Swedish Kronor from 9.4610 Swedish Kronor.