A Chinese non-governmental organization on Friday issued separate reports on the 2012 military power of the US and Japan.

The reports, the second of their kind since 2012, were released by the China Strategy Culture Promotion Association.

The military strategic transformation of the US and Japan is the focus of this year's reports, Luo Yuan, executive vice president of the association, told the Global Times Friday.

"The reports are strong and timely responses to the inaccurate remarks in the US annual report on China's military and the Japanese  Ministry of Defense's recent white paper," Su Hao, director of the Asia-Pacific Research Center at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Friday.

The reports pointed out that neither the US nor Japan had enough transparency regarding their military budgets.

The report on the US military said that the number and scale of its military exercises were on the rise.

The report said such moves by the US were not conducive to ensuring world peace.

Although the total defense budget of the US was lower in 2012, its basic military expenses were still on the rise, reaching $553.1 billion.

Luo said that China and the US were seeking to set up a new type of great power ties which makes it very important to  respect each other. 

The US released its annual report on Chinese military strength in May. Luo said it is necessary for Chinese scholars to release a similar report as a response based on solid evidence and information.

Japan's military development was aimed at strengthening its alliance with the US and ratcheting up "China threat" rhetoric, according to the new report.

The report noted that this was a key reason for the strains in the Sino-Japanese security relationship. 

The report also said that the money spent by Japan on building warships had increased by 130 percent compared to last year.

The report concluded that Japan has strengthened its defense in its southwest islands and was preparing to take over the Diaoyu Islands by force in the future and intervening in any potential conflict in the Taiwan Straits.

"We need to prepare for the worst [situation]," Luo said, adding that China should be well equipped.

The Japanese Defense Ministry's white paper for 2013, which was released early this month, warned of China's "potentially dangerous" maritime activities.

Global Times