Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso's comments which said China was "beginning to pose a considerable threat," was wrong, Taku Yamasaki, former vice president of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party said Sunday on a TV program.

 

The Japanese government has not used the word "threat" on formal occasions. If China's military power had posed a threat, then Japan would have to act towards it, which would make relations between the two countries even more strained, the ruling party lawmaker said on Fuji TV on Sunday morning.

 

Aso said Thursday that China "has an atomic bomb. Its military spending has been rising for 17 consecutive years. There is no transparency and I view that as a concern, a threat."

 

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Thursday that Aso's remarks on China's military development as "extremely irresponsible."

 

Qin said it is generally acknowledged that China insists on a path of peaceful development, stressing that China's development has made contributions to the world peace and stability, bringing East Asian countries, including Japan, great development opportunities.

 

Also on Thursday, the Chinese government released a white paper about its global and national strategy. It said China has been taking the road of peaceful development, and will continue to do so when it gets stronger in the future.

 

(Xinhua News Agency December 26, 2005)