BEIJING, Dec. 5 — A Chinese defense spokesperson on Friday urged Japan to meet its obligations as a defeated country in World War II, stop challenging the post-war international order, and refrain from sabotaging peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific.
Jiang Bin, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks at a press conference commenting on the Japanese government’s recent approval of an increased defense expenditure and its negotiations with the Philippines on the export of a Japanese missile.
Jiang criticized Japan for repeatedly breaching its commitments under the pacifist Constitution, substantially increasing its defense budget, pushing for the export of lethal weapons, and seeking to revise its three non-nuclear principles in recent years.
“As it quickened the pace of loosening restrictions on military development, Japan’s militarism is poised to make a comeback,” he said.
Jiang also slammed Japan for its lack of proactive efforts that has severely delayed the overall disposal process of chemical weapons it had abandoned in China during its period of aggression.
During the war of aggression against China, in blatant violation of international law, Japanese militarists used a large number of chemical weapons, causing over 200,000 Chinese military and civilian casualties, he said.
To cover up its crime after being defeated, the Japanese side abandoned a large number of chemical weapons on Chinese territory, poisoning over 2,000 people, Jiang said, adding that these chemical weapons continue to jeopardize the safety of Chinese people’s life and property and harm the environment.
China requests Japan to make all-out efforts to expedite the disposal process, collect and provide information about the abandoned chemical weapons for the Chinese side in a timely manner, fully assist Chinese in leads search and identification, and shoulder its responsibility in the treatment of polluted water and soil, he said. (Namibia Daily News/Xinhua)
