China criticizes Japan for spreading disinformation and jeopardizing South China Sea stability

China urged Japan on Thursday to stop spreading disinformation about the South China Sea and jeopardizing peace and stability in the region, according to a military spokesman.

Senior Colonel Jiang Bin, a spokesman for China's Ministry of National Defense, said at a press briefing in Beijing on Thursday afternoon that the major reason behind Japan joining the Philippine side in distorting facts about a recent provocation by a Philippine government vessel is that "it wants to make waves in the South China Sea and fish in muddy waters".

He noted that the Japanese side has been strengthening its collusion with the Philippines by providing weapons and sending troops to the Philippines for joint exercises, during which it launched offensive missiles on foreign soil for the first time.

"The Japanese side is attempting to break away from the post-war international order and revive its doomed dream of military expansion. This is a real threat to regional peace and stability. We urge the Japanese side to offer a clear explanation of its accelerating 'remilitarization' efforts, and stop sowing discord and undermining peace and stability in the South China Sea," Jiang said.

The spokesman said that Japanese imperialists perpetrated innumerable crimes against the people of China and many other nations in the 1930s and 1940s.

"To this day, instead of reflecting on its historical guilt for aggression, Japan is repeating its old tactics. Under the pretext of the so-called 'existential crisis situation', it is accelerating its remilitarization, which poses a threat to regional peace and stability. The international community should stay highly vigilant and firmly deter the reckless moves of Japan's 'new-type militarism'," Jiang stressed.