East China Sea U.S.–China Military

[Bilingual] The Japanese Side Smears China's Defense Expenditure by Peddling Conspiracy Theory to Cover up Its Remilitarization

【双语】日方用“阴谋论”抹黑中国国防开支掩饰其“再军事化”

PLA Daily (解放军报) 25 June 2026

Summary

PRC Ministry of National Defense spokesman Zhang Xiaogang, responding to Japanese Defense Minister comments on Chinese budget transparency, defended China's defense spending as open and restrained while framing Japan's 14-year consecutive budget growth and planned increase to 3.5% of GDP as evidence of 'remilitarization' and 'neo-militarism.' The exchange documents Beijing's standard counter-transparency playbook: preempt criticism of PLA opacity by redirecting to Japan's defense buildup, invoking the UN military expenditure mechanism as a legitimacy credential while avoiding specifics on PLA off-budget spending. The framing fits a recurring pattern in which MND spokesmen use Japanese defense policy as a deflection surface whenever PLA budget transparency comes under international pressure.

Translation

The Japanese Side Smears China's Defense Expenditure by Peddling Conspiracy Theory to Cover up Its Remilitarization

Question: According to reports, after the Chinese side refuted Japan's hype over China's defense expenditure in March of this year, the Japanese Defense Minister recently once again publicly questioned the transparency of China's defense budget, while also claiming that "Japan will invest in new operational capabilities such as drones and artificial intelligence in a transparent manner, in order to adapt to the evolving nature of conflicts." What is your comment on this?

Zhang Xiaogang: China's defense expenditure is open and transparent. Every year, in accordance with the law, we publicly release information on the total defense expenditure budget as well as its scale, composition, and usage. China actively participates in the UN military expenditure transparency mechanism and has submitted reports on the previous fiscal year's military expenditure to the United Nations every year since 2008. China's defense expenditure has consistently adhered to being reasonable, moderate, and restrained (合理、适度、克制), with its share of GDP remaining below 1.5% over the long term. Japan, by contrast, is a defeated nation from World War II whose defense budget has grown rapidly for 14 consecutive years, with defense spending as a share of GDP soaring to 2%—and plans to raise it further to 3.5%. Japan's per capita defense spending is more than three times that of China. As the saying goes, the pure will be pure and the murky will be murky (清者自清，浊者自浊). The Japanese side smears China's defense expenditure by peddling "conspiracy theory," vainly attempting to divert attention, mislead public opinion, and cover up its ambitions and actions toward "remilitarization" (再军事化). It is Japan that truly owes the world a clear explanation: as "neo-militarism" (新型军国主义) grows in force and becomes a menace, what exactly does Japan intend to do?

Original Chinese

日方用“阴谋论”抹黑中国国防开支掩饰其“再军事化” The Japanese Side Smears China’s Defense Expenditure by Peddling Conspiracy Theory to Cover up Its Remilitarization 记者：据报道，在今年3月中方反驳日方炒作中国国防支出一事后，日本防卫大臣近期再次公开质疑中国国防费透明度，同时声称“日本将以透明的方式投资于无人机和人工智能等新型作战手段，以适应不断变化的冲突性质”。请问对此有何评论？ Question:Back in March this year, the Chinese side refuted Japan’s hype over China’s defense expenditure. Yet recently, it is reported that Japanese defense minister once again questioned the transparency of China’s defense budget. He also claimed that Japan will invest in new operational capabilities including drones and AI in a transparent manner, so as to adapt to the evolving nature of conflicts. May I have your comment on this? 张晓刚：中国的国防费公开透明，每年都依法公开国防支出预算总额及其规模、结构、用途等信息，积极参加联合国军费透明制度，2008年以来每年都向联合国提交上一财政年度军事开支报告。中国国防支出一贯坚持合理、适度、克制，占GDP的比重长期低于1.5%。反观日本，作为二战战败国，防卫预算连续14年快速增长，防卫支出占GDP比重飙升至2%，甚至还要进一步提升至3.5%，人均防卫支出是中国的3倍多。清者自清，浊者自浊。日方用“阴谋论”抹黑中国国防开支，妄想转移视线、误导舆论，掩饰其“再军事化”野心和举动。真正应该向世界讲清楚的是日本：“新型军国主义”成势为患，意欲何为？ Zhang Xiaogang:China’s defense expenditure is open and transparent. As required by Chinese laws, we release information on China’s total defense budget as well as its scale, composition and usage every year. China is an active participant in the UN military expenditure transparency mechanism and has submitted annual military expenditure reports of the previous fiscal year to the UN since 2008. Our defense expenditure remains at a reasonable, moderate and restrained level, which accounts for less than 1.5% of our GDP for a long time. In contrast, Japan, as a defeated nation in World War II, has rapidly increased its defense budget for 14 consecutive years. Its defense spending has drastically increased to 2% of its GDP, and the government plans to further raise this ratio to 3.5%. Japan’s per capita defense spending is more than three times that of China. As the Chinese saying goes, “the innocent are innocent and the guilty are guilty”. The Japanese side has long smeared China’s defense expenditure by peddling conspiracy theory in a bid to divert attention, mislead public opinion, and cover up its ambition and actions in remilitarization. It is Japan that truly owes the world a clear explanation: as neo-militarism grows into a greater threat, where is Japan heading for?