China rejects Philippines' comments on V-Day celebration

BEIJING -- China on Monday rejected comments by the Philippines about its V-Day celebrations and reaffirmed its commitment to world peace.

"Those words do not deserve comment," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei at a daily press conference.

Hong's remarks came after a statement from Philippine defense ministry spokesman Peter Paul Galvez on Sunday, who said the department welcomed the Chinese leadership's recent announcement affirming its commitment to peace, but questioned why China displayed offensive weaponry at the Sept 3 parade.

"China has sent a loud and clear message to the world through its V-Day celebrations, which is that we should cherish and safeguard the hard-won peace," Hong said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized peaceful development at the celebrations.

"No matter how much stronger it may become, China will never seek hegemony or expansion. It will never inflict its past suffering on any other nation," said Xi.

Xi also announced that China will cut the number of its troops by 300,000.

"The stronger China becomes, the stronger will be the world's force for maintaining peace," said Hong Lei.

According to Hong, foreign leaders attending China's celebrations, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, President of the Republic of Korea Park Geun-hye and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, spoke highly of the event and praised the Chinese people's great sacrifice and contribution to the victory in World War II.

He noted that the celebrations were broadly representative as foreign participants came from all continents.