China criticizes Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba's "Asian NATO" idea

China criticized Tuesday an idea put forward by new Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba for a NATO-like security structure in Asia, urging Tokyo to "stop engaging in exclusive military alliances" and "be cautious in its words and deeds" in the field of security.Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said in a statement Japan has "hyped up the non-existent 'China threat' in an attempt to divert the international community's attention" from its military expansion and that Beijing "firmly opposes" this.Ishiba, known for his defense expertise, proposed creating an "Asian version of NATO"…READ FULL ARTICLE