Claims that China's military development is a threat are «totally groundless,» Beijing's defense chief said in Tokyo on Thursday, though he assured his Japanese hosts that China is becoming more open about its defense spending, AP reported. Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan met with his Japanese counterpart and made a speech as part of a trip to Japan aimed at reversing a freeze in defense contacts between the two Asian neighbors and improving overall ties. The visit, however, comes amid persistent concerns in Japan about China's military buildup. Tokyo has expressed alarm at the pace of Chinese defense spending, and the lack of transparency in Beijing's military budget. Cao insisted in his speech to Japanese defense officials and lawmakers that China's military growth was not aimed at any country or people, and he reiterated Beijing's stance that it would never use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states, including Japan. «Some people who are not well-informed are making noises about China becoming a military threat, but that is totally groundless,» he said. Japanese former Foreign Minister Taro Aso, for instance, has called China's military a threat. In talks with Cao earlier Thursday, Japanese Defense Minister Masahiko Komura urged China to disclose more details about its soaring military budget, repeating a concern often voiced in Tokyo and in Washington. Komura specifically urged China to reveal details of troop deployment, equipment and training. Cao responded by saying that Beijing was increasing transparency, and the growth in spending has largely gone to salaries, uniforms and modernization of equipment in line with international trends, a Japanese defense official said on customary condition of anonymity. Cao also pointed to Taiwan. China and Taiwan split amid civil war in 1949, and Beijing considers the island part of its territory. China has threatened to invade Taiwan to block it achieving formal independence. «China needs military spending because of the Taiwan situation,» the defense official quoted Cao as telling Komura. «To defend China's sovereignty and security, some of our finances must go into defense.» Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also raised the issue when Cao paid him a courtesy call later in the day, Japan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Abe stressed that greater transparency would increase trust and help China play an important role in Asian security, it said. The Chinese defense chief responded by inviting Japanese observers to attend military exercises China plans to conduct in mid-September, it said. Cao, who arrived in Japan on Wednesday for a five-day visit, is the first Chinese defense chief to visit Japan in nearly a decade. The trip is aimed at bolstering defense cooperation between the two countries and improving ties that have been strained in recent years. Despite warming ties, however, concerns are still high in Tokyo about China's military buildup and marked rise in defense spending. In June, China said its military budget for 2007 increased by 17.8 percent to US$44.9 billion (¤32.9 billion). Japan's Defense Ministry lists Chinese military expansion as a top security concern in the region. Tokyo also expressed alarm when China successfully tested an anti-satellite missile in January, becoming only the third country to destroy an object in space. During the talks, Komura and Cao agreed to launch a working group to discuss a possibility to set up a telephone hot line between their armies. The United States and China are also considering a similar hot line. The two sides also agreed on reciprocal port calls by navy ships, with Chinese vessels visiting Japan as early as November in what would be a first Chinese navy port call since the end of World War II, defense officials said. Cao addressed Japanese troops before the talks Thursday. Tokyo's relations with Beijing have been improving since Abe made a fence-mending trip to China immediately after taking office last September, reversing a steep decline in relations under his predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi. Cao is the first Chinese defense minister to visit Japan since Chi Haotian came to Tokyo in February 1998.
