Update: Japan's ever-expanding nuclear ambitions serious threat to world peace, stability: Chinese spokesperson

BEIJING, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- The ever-expanding nuclear ambitions of Japan's right-wing forces are a dangerous signal of the resurgence of Japanese militarism that poses a serious threat to world peace and stability, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said here on Thursday.

Spokesperson Mao Ning made the remarks at a daily press briefing when speaking about a research report titled "Nuclear Ambitions of Japan's Right-Wing Forces: A Serious Threat to World Peace," which was released on Thursday morning.

She urged Japan to face up to the call of the international community for justice, immediately clarify its position on the issue of nuclear weapons, abide by its obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the three non-nuclear principles.

Denouncing Japan's nuclear ambitions since the new government took office, Mao said such moves form a grave challenge to the international nuclear non-proliferation regime based on the NPT and the postwar international order, and have been met with strong opposition from the international community and people from various sectors within Japan.

Mao said the report exposes the intention of Japanese right-wing forces to own nuclear weapons, listing the alarming facts that Japan has been conducting research on nuclear weapons secretly and stockpiling large amount of sensitive nuclear materials for a long time, with the potential of developing nuclear weapons.

The report delves into the negative impact Japanese right-wing forces' nuclear-related words and deeds could have on international peace and security, proposes a series of measures and suggestions on eliminating the vicious impact of words and deeds of the Japanese side, and calls for opposing Japan's possession of nuclear weapons and safeguarding world peace, said Mao.

The international community needs to watch out against Japan's dangerous tendency towards possessing nuclear weapons, exercise caution on nuclear cooperation with Japan, and continue bilateral and multilateral discussions on containing Japan's nuclear ambitions and stepping up monitoring and verification, said Mao.

"The international law and nuclear non-proliferation regime must stay intact, and Japan must stop testing the bottom and red lines of international justice," she added. ■