Japan denies meddling in China drills
Iran Press TV
Fri Nov 1, 2013 8:1AM GMT
Japan says it has not interfered in China's recent naval exercises as Beijing lodged a formal diplomatic protest over the issue.
On Thursday, the Chinese Defense Ministry denounced Tokyo's "dangerous provocation" in shadowing the military drills, saying Japan had disrupted the live fire exercises.
The Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun stated that Japanese patrols of ships and aircraft were collecting information on the exercises.
Japan's Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera on Friday rejected interfering in the exercises, which he said were held in the sea southeast of the Sakishima island chain, south of a group of disputed islands known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.
"We have carried out the usual precautionary observations in accordance with international law," Onodera said, describing the views of China as "unacceptable."
He further said Tokyo's views were conveyed to Beijing. "For China to carry out regular drills is not illegal, and for us to be cautious is also natural, I believe."
The Japanese defense minister also stressed the importance of setting up a Japan-China hot line "so suspicion and mistrust doesn't arise between the two sides."
Relations between China and Japan have been strained for months, as the Asian neighbors are involved in a dispute over the uninhabited islands in the East China Sea.
Tokyo signed a deal on September 11, 2012 to buy three of the islands from their private Japanese owner in line with plans to nationalize the archipelago.
China maintains that the islands are an inherent part of its territory and it has indisputable sovereignty over them. Japanese government, on the other hand, regards the islands as a part of Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture.
The islands have been under Japanese administrative control since the reversion of Okinawa to Japan from US administrative rule in 1972.
MR/HSN
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