BEIJING, Dec. 5 -- "The Chinese side urges the Japanese side to conduct serious soul-searching on its crime of aggression, earnestly fulfill its responsibilities and obligations, increase input in various aspects, and make all-out efforts to expedite the JACWs disposal process," said Senior Colonel Jiang Bin, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense (MND), at a regular press briefing on Friday.

It's known that the Chinese side recently released the white paper, China's Arms Control, Disarmament, and Nonproliferation in the New Era, urging Japan to destroy the abandoned chemical weapons (JACWs) thoroughly in a clean manner and at an early date.

When being asked to share comment, the spokesperson said that during the war of aggression against China, in blatant violation of international law, the Japanese militarists used large amounts of chemical weapons, causing over 200,000 Chinese military and civilian casualties.

"To cover up its crime after being defeated, the Japanese side abandoned a large number of chemical weapons on Chinese territory, poisoning over 2,000 people. Until now, the JACWs still gravely jeopardize the safety of people's life and property and harm the environment," the spokesperson noted.

The spokesperson then emphasized that the Japanese side should have destroyed the abandoned chemical weapons in China in a secure, clean and thorough way much earlier. Yet the overall disposal process has been severely delayed due to the lack of proactive efforts from the Japanese side.

"Eliminating the hazards of JACWs is Japan's unshirkable historical, political and legal responsibility, and also an international obligation under the Chemical Weapons Convention," he added.

The spokesperson seriously noted that the Chinese side urges the Japanese side to conduct serious soul-searching on its crime of aggression, earnestly fulfill its responsibilities and obligations, increase input in various aspects, and make all-out efforts to expedite the JACWs disposal process.

"We request the Japanese side to spare no effort to collect and provide information about the JACWs for the Chinese side in a timely manner, fully assist us in leads search and identification, earnestly shoulder its responsibility in the treatment of polluted water and soil, so as to restore a safe and clean environment to the Chinese people at an early date, and 'a world free of chemical weapons' for humanity," stressed the spokesperson in the end.