China dismisses US naval report

BEIJING - China on Thursday criticized a US congressional report which called for a bigger US naval presence in the Asia-Pacific to offset China's growing influence.

"China always holds a non-aggressive strategy for national defense and sticks to the road of peaceful development," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a regular press briefing.

Development of China's national defense is proportionate and safeguards the country, Hong said, adding that China has always been an positive force for peace and development in the Asia-Pacific region.

In its 2013 report released on Wednesday, the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission recommended an increase of US naval presence in the region to at least 60 ships and rebalancing homeports to 60 percent in the region by 2020.

This would allow the United States "the capacity to maintain readiness and presence in the Western Pacific, offset China's growing military capabilities and surge naval assets in the event of a contingency".

"This particular agency has, for years, published biased reports, stuffed with the ideology of the Cold War. Their perspective is not worth rebuttal," Hong said.