The Chinese government is blasting the outline of a new Japanese report set to be officially released, suggesting the Japanese side is only trying to stoke tensions in the South China Sea.
An outline of Japan's forthcoming defense white paper has been released.
It is said to portray Chinese land reclamation projects in the South China Sea as "high-handed."
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying notes Japan has no claims in the South China Sea.
"Japan is not the party involved in issues over the South China Sea at all, yet as we all have seen, Japan has scrambled around recently, tarnishing China and playing up or creating regional tensions. The true aim of such moves is actually obvious - seeking or making a pretext for its domestic push with the uNPRecedented changes in its security policies since the Second World War."
At the same time, the new Japanese defense report is also expected to recommend guidelines to increase Japanese surveillance of the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea.
Hua has reiterated China's position in this issue.
"China's position on Diaoyu islands is consistent and clear. We will continue to take necessary measures to firmly safeguard China's territorial sovereignty over Diaoyu islands."
The forthcoming Japanese Defense report comes on the heels of policy changes brought in by the Japanese government this year which allows for its military to take on roles beyond self-defense.
