China rebuked claims that its military has been infiltrating overseas networks and accused the US of targeting two of its own websites.

Defense Ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng said that its official military websites – the China Defense Ministry website and Chinamil.com – were attacked 144,000 times a month on average last year.

“Attacks originating in the US accounted for 62.9%,” Geng told reporters at a news conference.

Geng also criticized a report from US cyber-security group Mandiant which blamed the People Liberation Army’s Shanghai-based Unit 61398 for the constant hacking attacks on more than 140 companies across the globe, according to The Associated Press.

The report was “unprofessional and not in accordance with facts,” Geng said.

Several US news organizations have also revealed that their systems were infiltrated following investigative reporting on the Chinese leadership, reports Financial Times.

Beijing have persistently denied the accusations.

“Like other countries, China faces a serious threat from hacking and is one of the primary victims of hacking in the world,” Geng said. “Numbers of attacks have been on the rise in recent years.”

The People’s Daily, the Communist party’s mouthpiece, hit out at the US in an angry editorial this week. “In fact, it is America which is a real hackers’ empire worthy of this name.”