Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning criticized the United States on Friday for stepping up military deployments in the Asia-Pacific under the pretext of the so-called China threat.

Speaking at a regular news briefing, Mao said such moves are not conducive to regional peace and stability and do not serve the interests of countries in the region.

The spokeswoman made the remarks after the Pentagon outlined plans to allocate an additional $12.6 billion to enhance its surveillance capabilities concerning China's military activities in a budget proposal submitted to the US Congress.