China stated that it "has sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the relevant waters."
The official representative of the Ministry of Defense of China, Jiang Bin, condemned Japan for inflating the issue of China's military budget, stating that it is nothing more than an illustration of the proverb "The thief cries: 'Stop thief!,'" aimed at justifying its own hidden ambitions of military expansion.
Jiang Bin made the statement in response to false interpretations by Japanese politicians regarding China's defense spending.
"China's defense spending is less than 1.5 percent of its GDP. It is significantly lower than that of major military powers like the United States, and also below the world average and NATO's target of over 2 percent of GDP," Jiang Bin noted.
According to him, China's defense budget maintains a reasonable, moderate, and restrained growth. This increase is aimed solely at protecting China's sovereignty, security, and development interests, as well as maintaining peace and stability worldwide.
"We urge the Japanese side to look in the mirror more often, to stop its misleading campaigns to discredit, and to never repeat the doomed mistake of militarism," said the official representative of the Ministry of Defense of China.
The official representative of the Ministry of Defense of China, Jiang Bin, also emphasized China's firm determination to defend its rights in the South China Sea (SCS), criticizing the "self-staged farce" by the Philippines.
China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nanhai Zhudao (Spratly Islands), including Huangyan Island, and the adjacent maritime areas, and has sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the relevant waters, Jiang Bin stated, commenting on recent statements by the Philippine Coast Guard.
Law enforcement activities conducted by the Chinese side in the waters under its jurisdiction are fully justified, Jiang Bin noted, adding that China has taken lawful and legitimate countermeasures that were professional and restrained in response to recent provocations by the Philippine Coast Guard.
"Bringing journalists on board during so-called patrol missions to shoot videos and promote the 'victim narrative' has become a familiar scenario for the Philippine side," Jiang Bin noted.
Edited video materials and fabricated lies will never change China's sovereignty over the Nanhai Zhudao, nor will they shake China's firm determination to defend its rights in accordance with the law, he added.
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