Quotable

"You should take more time to look at yourself in the mirror than throw mud at others. If you keep advocating confrontation, you will end up harming both you and others. You will have no future if you don't reflect on history."

Yang Yujun, spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, says these are the three sentences he wants to state to the Japanese government. He made the remarks on Thursday at a news conference in response to the Japanese Defense Ministry's white paper for 2013. The document, released on Tuesday, said that a lack of transparency in the Chinese military is "a concern" for the region and the international community.