BEIJING - The Defense Ministry on Saturday expressed firm opposition to a Pentagon report on China's military development and security.

The report played up "China's military threat" in disregard of facts and make groundless accusations of China's defense and military building, said Defense Ministry spokesperson Geng Yansheng in a statement.

He said China was firmly opposed to the US accusations on issues such as the direction of China's defense policies and the so-called lack of transparency.

The spokesperson said the report, released on Saturday by US Department of Defense, disregarded China's efforts to maintain global and regional peace and stability and promote China-US military relations, and distorted China's peaceful development strategies and its justified moves to uphold sovereignty in the East China Sea and South China Sea.

China has always adhered to the path of peaceful development, pursuing a peaceful foreign policy and defensive military strategy, Geng said.

The military buildup aims to maintain sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, and guarantee China's peaceful development, he said.

Stressing that the Chinese military is a strong force upholding world peace, Geng said China's moves to safeguard territorial sovereignty and maritime rights are justified, reasonable and legitimate, and are beyond reproach.

The United States annual report on China's military development has severely damaged trust and runs counter to the important consensus reached between both state leaders on building a new type of major-country relationship and new model of military-to-military relations, Geng said.

He urged the US side to stop comments and actions that harm relations between the two countries and the trust between both militaries, and promote the healthy and stable growth of ties.

China will make further response accordingly, the spokesperson added.