Renewed tension between China, Japan
2013-02-08 13:50
Beijing - China and Japan engaged on Friday in a fresh
round of invective over military movements near a disputed group of uninhabited
islands, fuelling tensions that for months have bedevilled relations between
the two major Asian powers.
China's defence ministry rejected a Japanese allegation
that a naval vessel had aimed a weapons-targeting radar at a Japanese military
ship in the East China Sea, its first comment on the week-old incident.
It said Japan's intrusive tracking of Chinese vessels was
the "root cause" of the renewed tension.
A Japanese official on Friday dismissed the Chinese
explanation for the 30 January incident.
He said Beijing's actions could precipitate a dangerous
situation in waters around the islets, known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in
Japan, believed to be rich in oil and gas.
His comments came a day after Japan said two Russian
fighter jets briefly entered its air space near other, long-disputed islands,
prompting Japan to scramble combat fighters. Russia denied the charge.
China's defence ministry, in a statement issued late on
Thursday, said Japan's remarks "do not match the facts".
The Chinese ship's radar, it said, had maintained regular
alerting operations and "did not use fire control radar".
The ministry said the Chinese ship was tracked by a
Japanese destroyer during routine training exercises.
Fire control radar pinpoints the location of a target for
missiles or shells and its use can be considered a step short of actual firing.
Japan, it said, had recently "made irresponsible
remarks that hyped up the so-called 'China threat', recklessly created tension
and misled international public opinion.
"... In recent years, Japanese warships and aeroplanes
have often conducted long periods of close-range tracking and surveillance of
China's naval ships and aeroplanes. This is the root cause of air and maritime
security issues between China and Japan."
Military threat
In Tokyo, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga
told a news conference on Friday: "We cannot accept China's
explanation."
Japan's allegations, he said, had been "a result of
our defence ministry's careful and detailed analysis. We urge China to take
sincere measures to prevent dangerous actions which could cause a contingency
situation."
Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said this week
that the incident could have become very dangerous very quickly, and that use
of the radar could be seen as a threat of military force under UN rules.
Hopes have been rising in recent weeks for a thaw in ties
after months of tension, sparked, in part, by Japan's nationalisation of three
of the privately owned islets last September.
Fears that encounters between aircraft and ships could
degenerate into an accidental clash have given impetus to efforts to improve
links, including a possible summit between Abe and Chinese leader Xi Jinping,
who takes over as head of state in March.
