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A file picture of the Japanese destroyer Yuudachi. (Reuters)
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Tokyo, Feb. 5 (Reuters): A Chinese navy vessel aimed a type of radar normally used to aim weapons at a target at a Japanese navy ship in the East China Sea, prompting Japan to protest, Japan’s defence minister said today.
This action could complicate efforts to cool tension in a territorial row between the rivals.
“Projecting fire control radar is very unusual,” Japanese defence minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters of the incident, which he said occurred on January 30 but took time to confirm. “One mistake, and the situation would become very dangerous.”
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, however, told Onodera it was important to respond calmly and not meet provocation with provocation, Kyodo news agency reported. Hopes have been rising for a thaw in ties between Asia’s two biggest economies since a chill began in September when Tokyo nationalised a chain of rocky, uninhabited isles in the East China Sea.
In particular, there are hopes for a leaders’ summit to help ease the strains that a junior Japanese coalition partner said today could take place as early as April.
Onodera said a similar incident may have occurred on January 19, when a Chinese naval ship may have directed so-called fire control radar at a Japanese navy helicopter.
The long-running row over the islands, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China, has in recent months escalated to the point where both sides have scrambled fighter jets.
Chinese officials were not available for comment on Japan’s complaint about the radar, but a Chinese spokeswoman earlier urged Japan to stop what she called provocation. “We believe that what is most urgent is for Japan to stop provocative actions like regularly sending in ships and aircraft into the waters around the Diaoyu Islands and seek, via talks with China, an effective way to resolve this issue,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a news conference.
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