Tokyo ? Two top Japanese officials called China a military threat today and rebuffed conciliatory gestures by Beijing over a disputed war shrine, in comments likely to heighten tensions between the two nations.

Foreign Minister Taro Aso – who has already angered China in recent months with a series of critical comments – questioned China’s rapid military spending increases and its lack of transparency.

China has announced double-digit spending increases for its 2.5-million-member military nearly every year since the early 1990s.

Japan’s Defense Agency has listed China’s military expansion as a top security concern in the region, echoing U.S. concerns about Chinese secrecy surrounding its military spending.