Ministry of Defense: Urges Relevant Countries to Stop Forming Alliances and Engaging in Camp Confrontation

On the afternoon of May 9, Colonel Jiang Bin, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Defense News Bureau and spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense, released a statement regarding recent military-related issues.

Reporter: According to reports, the Japanese Minister of Defense and the Philippine Secretary of National Defense issued a joint statement opposing any "unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East China Sea and South China Sea by force or coercion," expressing serious concern over China's "dangerous coercion" around Japan and the Philippines. The two sides will also strengthen defense cooperation in areas such as equipment technology and information sharing. What is your comment on this?

Jiang Bin: Certain politicians in Japan and the Philippines are hyping up false narratives regarding maritime issues and unjustly smearing China. We express strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to this. Relevant parties ignore the common desire of regional countries for peace and development, disregard the opposition of their own people, and strengthen military collusion for personal gain, exacerbating regional tensions. The Japanese side has dispatched troops to participate in joint exercises and has launched offensive missiles abroad for the first time, deliberately breaking through the principle of "defense only." The Philippine side attempts to pull in external forces to back its infringement actions and even tries to turn the tables on China, which is completely miscalculated. The Chinese military's determination to safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights is unwavering. We urge relevant countries to stop forming cliques and engaging in camp confrontation, and to do more things that are truly beneficial to regional peace and stability.