Jiang Bin Photo: China's Ministry of National Defense

The Ministry of National Defense of China on Thursday slammed the release of animated videos by some foreign arms firms depicting the "sinking" of Chinese naval vessels as acts of self-indulgence.

At a regular press conference Thursday afternoon, Senior Colonel Jiang Bin, the deputy director of information bureau and a spokesperson of the ministry, made the remarks when asked for comments about reports that relevant arms firms and institutions from Sweden, the UK, the US, Japan and other countries have released so-called animated videos depicting the "sinking" of Chinese naval vessels, with netizens believing that these firms, in an attempt to market their weapons, have taken China's weaponry and equipment on their "wish lists" to flaunt their own capabilities. 

"As far as I know, the Swedish arms firm has taken down the relevant video, and we believe other relevant parties should do the right thing. In fact, for such self-indulgent acts, I want to say to them: You wish," Jiang said.

Wang Yunfei, a Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times that real combat would be very different from some animated videos for product promotions. 

He noted that Chinese vessels have multi-layered air defense systems, such as the HQ-9 long-range air defense missile, HQ-10 short-range air defense missile, and the Type 1130 close-in weapon system, covering all defense ranges. Some subsonic missiles advertised in the animated videos by foreign arms firms are more than likely to get intercepted, Wang said.

From another perspective, these promotional videos also showed that China has achieved a significant lead in the technological advancement of naval vessels worldwide today. It is precisely for this reason that these foreign arms firms take Chinese naval vessels as an imaginary target to flaunt their capabilities, indulging in self-aggrandizement with the gimmick of the so-called "sinking of Chinese naval vessels" and claiming how advanced their weapons and equipment are. Such shoddy attention-seeking acts put no substantive pressure at all on the Chinese navy, Wang said.