BEIJING, March 3 -- The Chinese army will not stir up a war but will fight back against any provocation, a political advisor and former defense ministry official said on Monday.

"At present we can not completely rule out the possibility of clashes in East Asia, but it is not decided by China," said Qian Lihua, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

"Japan has lost its direction, which has been taken advantage of by right-wing forces to challenge the international order formed after World War II," said Qian, a major general who used to head the foreign affairs office under the Ministry of National Defense.

He said it is impossible and impractical for Japan's right-wing forces or militarism forces to cause big trouble, chaos, conflicts and even wars against China as the country was not in the same situation as in 1894 or in the 1930s, when Japan waged two wars against China.

"The Chinese army and the Chinese people are capable of containing the development of Japan's militarism and will prevent them from making trouble around China," Qian added.

Meanwhile, Qian said China will make efforts to control risk, prevent conflict escalation, and try to bring the China-Japan relation back on the right track.

No country wants to have wars considering the current economic difficulties, he said.

"If there is a war, it will only damage the hard-earned economic recovery," he said.

About 2,200 members of the CPPCC National Committee convened in Beijing Monday afternoon for the annual session of China's top political advisory body.