• Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan with U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel during a meeting at the Chinese Defense Ministry headquarters in Beijing, April 2014.

Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan with U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel during a meeting at the Chinese Defense Ministry headquarters in Beijing, April 2014. (Photo : Reuters)

China has again accused the United States of online surveillance and information theft as China's Defense Ministry on March 20, Friday, rebuffed U.S. claims that it was involved in the cyber-attack on registry.com, a unit of web.com.

"The relevant criticism that China's military participated in Internet hacking is to play the same old tune, and is totally baseless," the defense ministry said in a fax to Reuters.

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The Financial Times reported that hackers from the Chinese military had apparently gained access of register.com's network a year ago, but no disruption of the system or data theft was reported.

The report said it was unclear what the hackers were looking for in accessing the company's data.

According to Reuters, register.com manages more than 2.5 million domain names, and also offers Web management and design services to several other companies.

China and the United States regularly trade accusations of online breach.

Last year, the National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team/Coordination Center of China reported that 4,761 IP addresses in the United States have gained access and control to some 5,580 Chinese websites. The agency said that it was made possible by using backdoor programs that allow hackers remote access to a computer.

The Chinese Defense Ministry had repeatedly maintained that China is, in fact, one of the world's biggest victims of hacking.

"The Chinese government has all along resolutely opposed and dealt with in accordance with the law Internet hacking and other relevant criminal activities, and the Chinese military has never been involved in or participated in any activities to steal commercial secrets online," the ministry said in its statement.

The ministry also called on the U.S. government to provide an explanation to the world about its online surveillance activities and asked them to refrain from making baseless remarks.