¡¡TOKYO, Dec. 11 (Xinhuanet) -- The Japanese government unveiled a 10-year defense program Friday which groundlessly describes China as a potential threat alongside the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

    While the DPRK has no diplomatic relations with Tokyo, China is a country with which Japan has signed a peace treaty and maintained very close economic ties.

    Although diplomatic in wording, Japan's Defense Program Outline mentions China and the DPRK as the only neighbors that pose a threat to it.

    "It is necessary to watch China's nuclear and ballistic missile programs, the modernization of its navy and air force and its attempts to expand marine activities," said the document released by the Japanese government on Friday.

    China and Japan normalized relations 32 years ago. In addition to the Treaty of Peace and Friendship signed six years later, the two countries agreed to upgrade their relations to partnership in 1998.

    In the past three decades, trade has increased by more than 130 times and is expected to reach 150 billion US dollars this year. China might become Japan's biggest trading partner in the very near future. Japan's total investment in China amounts to 46 billion dollars.

    High degree of complementariness of the two economies has made long-term Sino-Japanese peace and friendship all the more important, not only for the two countries, but also for peace and prosperity in East Asia and the world at large.

    In this context, it is difficult to understand why Japan should see China as a threat.

    Japan's chief cabinet secretary Hosoda Hiroyuki was trying to play down the "China threat" issue. He told reporters on Friday that the new defense program did not refer to China as a threat but as a country that deserves Japanese attention in the field of security.

    However, his explanation did not even convince the Japanese media, which pointed out that it is the first time Japan's defense program has advocated "China threat," although in an indirect manner.

    The Japanese government's act to play up "China threat" goes against the two peoples' aspirations for lasting peace and friendship.

    China has expressed its "strong dissatisfaction" with the Japanese move. "This is totally groundless and extremely irresponsible," commented Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyueon Friday.

    It is well-known that the Chinese people are peace-loving. A stronger China will not be a threat to any other country. Instead, it will be conducive to the development of its neighbors and to regional and global stability and prosperity.

    China hopes Japan can seriously take into account its Asian neighbors' concern and exercise caution in military and security policies. Japan should stick to the course of pacifism and contribute to regional peace and development.

    It is particularly noteworthy that Japan appears to be following the United States in security strategy. It makes some sense that Japan might be shifting its defense priority to counter-terrorism after the Sept. 11 attacks and to the enhancement of defense capacity against what it calls the "DPRK threat." However, its unbelievably enthusiastic attitude toward a missile defense system in collaboration with the United States betrays its real intention. It is unconvincing at all that such a missile defense system is designed for the above-mentioned purposes only. Enditem