China yesterday defended its military buildup and called for calm over North Korea as the global community looked to Beijing for a breakthrough in efforts to stop Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions.
Lieutenant General Ma Xiaotian (馬嘯天), deputy chief of the general staff of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), told a top-level security forum in Singapore that China would “consistently” adhere to a “military strategy of active defense.”
But he also said Beijing needed to boost its military capabilities to counter security threats and support its commitments to help ensure international peace and stability.
China’s neighbors and the US have been wary of its growing military might because of fears that Beijing might be harboring territorial and other strategic ambitions.
Ma also said China understood the concerns of immediate neighbors Japan and South Korea and that “we are resolutely opposed to nuclear proliferation.”
Dressed in his military uniform and speaking to defense chiefs, military officers, security analysts and diplomats at the Singapore conference, Ma sought to assure China’s neighbors of Beijing’s peaceful intentions.
“China steadfastly pursues a policy of building friendship and partnership with neighboring countries … [and] adheres to a defense policy which is defensive in nature and a military strategy of active defense,” he said.
China is committed to developing military ties with other countries and has been a “positive participant” in various regional security forums, he said.
Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said Tokyo would be transparent with its military hardware purchases in order to prevent any misunderstanding with neighbors.
“We have mentioned that North Korea is a threat because of what has happened in the past, but unless there are other countries moving to us, we will never start an action as such,” Hamada said.
“In Japan, we have various and numerous constraints and internationally, we have also made clear that we do not use force in order to resolve conflict situations,” he said.
He told the forum Tokyo was looking at a range of weapon procurements including the F-22 fifth-generation fighter aircraft but stressed these were “only for the defense of the country as such.”
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