China military says quake shows it transparent

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's accepting of earthquake disaster relief from foreign militaries shows that the country's own military is more and more transparent, a senior officer said on Wednesday.

China's rising spending on arms and military modernization has been criticized by countries including the United States and Japan for its opaqueness, even as Beijing goes out of its way to say it is purely for defensive purposes and is quite open.

But China also took the unprecedented step of allowing rescue teams in after last month's devastating quake in southwestern Sichuan province from the militaries of countries such as the United States, Germany, Israel and Singapore.

"Before reform and opening up, we were very cautious in accepting foreign disaster relief," Defence Ministry spokesman Hu Changming told a news conference, referring to a period prior to the 1980s when China had yet to embark upon economic reforms.

"This time we took the initiative in accepting aid. This shows that in the process of reform and opening up, the military has become even more transparent and self-confident."

Still, Japan shelved plans for its forces to fly tents and blankets to China in the aftermath of the quake, over what a senior Japanese official said was concerns in China over the move.

Though relations have improved of late, many Chinese harbor resentment over Japan's 1931-45 military aggression in China.

Hu, while thanking Japan for its assistance, said the final decision not to use the Japanese military's help had be made by Tokyo.

"The Japanese government finally decided to use civilian aircraft to send the aid to the disaster zone," he said, without directly commenting on China's perceived sensitivity in accepting the offer.

"Earthquakes and other natural disasters are the common enemy of mankind, and people, governments and militaries from around the world must join together and face up to them together," Hu added.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)