Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun speaks during a regular press conference, March 31, 2025. /Chinese Foreign Ministry
China always believes that military and security cooperation between the U.S. and Japan should not target any third country or endanger regional peace and development, Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said on Monday.
Guo made the remarks when asked to comment on U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's statement on Sunday describing Japan as a "warrior country" that is "indispensable for tackling Chinese aggression."
By calling China a "threat" and using it as a pretext, the U.S. has been instigating ideological antagonism, stoking division and confrontation, and even inciting certain countries to be the cannon fodder of U.S. supremacy, Guo said.
He said regional countries need to stay on high alert and guard against such practices.
Noting this year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-fascist War, Guo said Japan, in particular, needs to learn from history and be prudent in military and security areas.
The spokesperson also reiterated that the Taiwan question is purely China's internal affair, stressing that "resolving the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese ourselves that no one can interfere."
He urged certain people in the U.S. to give up the illusion of "using Taiwan to contain China," abide by the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques with concrete actions, and honor the commitment made by the U.S. on Taiwan-related issues.
Guo also said Japan bears serious historical responsibility to the Chinese people, as it committed aggression against Taiwan and exercised colonial rule over the island.
"Japan should abide by the principles of the four political documents between China and Japan, act prudently on the Taiwan question, and refrain from sending the wrong signal to 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces," he said.
