China says its military expansion poses no threat to others

Beijing, May 6 (ANI): Rejecting Australian concerns that Beijing will be a major military concern in the years to come, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said its military's growth poses no threat to others.

"China unswervingly sticks to peaceful development and pursues a defensive military policy," the China Daily quoted Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ma Zhaoxu, as saying.

Earlier, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd had released a 140-page defense white paper, pointing out China and India as the major and most imminent military concerns in the Asia-Pacific region.

Su Hao, head of the Asia-Pacific research center at China Foreign Affairs University, said Australia's claim is biased and groundless, and stems from a lack of understanding of China.

"It is a product of the 'China Threat theory'. The Australian move is designed to strike a balance in domestic politics as the government was criticized by the country's conservative party for its pro-China sentiment earlier this year," Su said.

Su added that it was "natural and proper" for China to expand its military power to safeguard its long coastlines and vast territory as the country's economy grows.

The West has always dubbed China a threat.

Recently, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen, said that China's military expansion appears "aimed at the United States".

Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone said in the Australian city of Perth that China's military expansion was an "issue of some concern".

The US and Japan also expressed doubts about China's 70-billion dollars military budget for 2009, which was unveiled in March. (ANI)