On the afternoon of Aug. 7, China's Ministry of National Defense spokesman,
Senior Colonel Chen Xi, said Japan's accelerating development of offensive
weapons is increasingly rampant and dangerous and warrants high vigilance from
regional states. He said Japan's claim of "peripheral security threats" is a
pretext to breach its pacifist constitution and its "exclusive defense" posture
and to accelerate "re-militarization." Chen said the real threat to Japan's
security and regional stability is Japan's domestic push to expand its armed
forces, and urged the international community to unite and act to contain
Japan's "new militarism."
