The move, described by the minister and a Japanese analyst as "dangerous", marks the first time the two nation's navies have locked horns in a dispute that has some commentators warning about a possible armed conflict.
"On January 30, something like fire-control radar was directed at a Japan Self-Defense Maritime escort ship in the East China Sea," Itsunori Onodera told reporters in Tokyo.
"The defence ministry today confirmed radar for targeting was used."
Onodera said a Japanese military helicopter was also locked with a similar radar on January 19. He did not specify whether the helicopter was airborne or on the deck of a ship at the time.
Officials said on both occasions the targeting had lasted "minutes".
"Directing such radar is very abnormal," he said. "We recognise it could create a very dangerous situation if a single misstep occurred.
"We will seek the Chinese side's self-restraint from taking such dangerous action."
The move is a ratcheting-up of an already tense situation in the East China Sea, where Asia's two largest economies are at loggerheads over the sovereignty of an uninhabited island chain.
Hisao Iwashima, a Japanese defense analyst formerly of Japan's National Institute for Defense Studies, said Beijing needed to answer for what its navy had done.
"It could have been a test but it the Japanese side wouldn't have known if it was, or if it would lead to a launch," he told AFP.
"The Chinese side is responsible for explaining why it took such potentially dangerous action."
Also Tuesday Tokyo summoned China's envoy in protest at the presence a day earlier of Chinese government -- but not military -- ships in the waters around the Tokyo-controlled Senkakus, which Beijing claims as the Diaoyus.
No mention was made in the announcement of the actions of any Chinese military vessels. It was not believed that the military ships had been in what Japan considers its waters at the time of the episode.
"The foreign ministry summoned the Chinese ambassador over ships entering the waters near Senkaku islands," said an official.
Two maritime surveillance boats had spent around 14 hours in the area, one of the longest periods they have been present, the coastguard said.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference the actions were "absolutely unacceptable", adding Ambassador Cheng Yonghua had been called to the foreign ministry to hear Japan's "strong protest".
Chinese ships have repeatedly ventured into the waters, in what observers say is Beijing's bid to create a "new normal" in which Tokyo does not have effective control over the archipelago.
A Chinese government plane entered the chain's airspace in December, setting off sorties by Japanese fighter jets.
In recent weeks both countries have dispatched military planes, which on at least one occasion have shadowed each other, although there have been no clashes.
The radar targeting announced Tuesday has not previously been reported and is believed to be the first time the two navies have crossed swords, albeit at a distance and without a shot being fired.
But analysts say the ramping up of rhetoric -- Japan's new nationalist premier has maintained his robust pre-election stance on China -- and the more frequent confrontations raise the risk of an accidental armed conflict.
On a Saturday visit to Okinawa, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed to defend Japan against "provocations".
His government has approved a rise in defence spending for the first time in over a decade, with some of the cash earmarked for beefing up defence of the contested island chain.
Japan's already well-equipped coastguard said last week it would create a special unit over three years with 10 new large patrol boats, two helicopter carriers and a 600-strong force dedicated to overseeing Japanese territory in the East China Sea.
Abe's posturing, which plays well with his powerbase, has, however, been accompanied by apparent olive branches offered to Beijing. In a television interview he suggested China and Japan needed to hold a summit and has sent two emissaries to Beijing in recent weeks.
.globalpost.com
5/2/13
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Japan says it faces increasing threats from China, North Korea...
ReplyDeleteTOKYO: Japan faces increasingly serious threats to its security from an assertive China and an unpredictable North Korea, a defence ministry report said on Tuesday, as ruling politicians call for the military to beef up its ability to respond to such threats.
The report, the first since hawkish Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office vowing to boost Japan's defences, was likely to prompt a sharp response from Beijing, whose ties with Tokyo are strained by a territorial row.
China is also upset by remarks from Abe suggesting he wants to cast Tokyo's wartime history in a less apologetic tone.
"There are various issues and destabilising factors in the security environment surrounding Japan, some of which are becoming increasingly tangible, acute and serious," the annual defence white paper said.
"China has attempted to change the status quo by force based on its own assertion, which is incompatible with the existing order of international law," the report said, echoing recent comments by Abe and his cabinet.
"China should accept and stick to the international norms." A Sino-Japanese dispute over rival claims to tiny East China Sea islets flared up last September after Japan nationalised the isles, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.
Japan has been gradually ratcheting up its expressions of concern about Beijing's military expansion. Last year's defence white paper, issued before the islands flare-up, flagged the risks of the army's role in shaping Chinese foreign policy.
Patrol ships from both countries routinely shadow each other near the islands, raising concerns that an unintended collision or other incident could lead to a broader clash.
"Some of China's activities involve its intrusion into Japan's territorial waters, its violation of Japan's territorial airspace and even dangerous actions that could cause a contingency, and are extremely regrettable," the paper said.
Defence minister Itsunori Onodera said in February that a Chinese naval vessel had locked its fire control radar on a Japanese destroyer. Directing such radar at a target can be considered a step away from actual firing.....http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/Japan-says-it-faces-increasing-threats-from-China-North-Korea/articleshow/20984300.cms
9/7/13
Sicherheitslage in Asien: Japan warnt vor Chinas Aggressionen ...
ReplyDeleteDer Ton wird schärfer: In einem neuem Bericht zur Sicherheitslage beklagt Japan eine ernsthafte Bedrohung durch seinen Nachbarn China. Seit Monaten streiten die Länder um eine Inselgruppe.
Tokio - Chinas selbstbewusstes Auftreten bereitet Japan immer größere Sorgen. Ungewöhnlich scharf kritisiert das Verteidigungsministerium in Tokio nun das Auftreten der Volksrepublik: Die Rede ist von einer ernsthaften Bedrohung durch den großen Nachbarn. Dieser versuche territoriale Konflikte durch Gewalt zu lösen. Immer wieder schicke die Volksrepublik ihre Streitkräfte. Dies erhöhe die Gefahr möglicher Zusammenstöße.
Der Jahresbericht des japanischen Verteidigungsministeriums geht insbesondere auf den Konflikt um die umstrittenen Inseln im Ostchinesischen Meer ein. In Japan werden diese Senkaku-, in China Diaoyu-Inseln genannt. Immer wieder war es dort in den vergangenen Monaten zu militärischen Zwischenfällen gekommen. Peking hatte Schiffe in das Ostchinesische Meer geschickt, um Stärke im Streit um die Inseln zu demonstrieren. Auch japanische Schiffe sind in dem Gebiet auf Patrouille unterwegs.
"Gefährliche Aktionen"
Die Volksrepublik habe versucht, den Status quo durch Gewalt zu ändern. Diese beruhe auf der Behauptung, die Inseln gehörten zu China. Dies sei nicht mit dem Völkerrecht vereinbar, heißt es in dem Bericht weiter. "China soll das internationale Recht akzeptieren und einhalten." Tokio wirft der Volksrepublik vor, mehrmals in japanische Gewässer eingedrungen zu sein und den Luftraum des Landes verletzt zu haben - der Bericht spricht zudem von "noch gefährlicheren Aktionen, die einen Notfall hätten verursachen können".
Damit spielt das Papier auf einen Vorfall im Februar an. Damals soll ein chinesisches Kriegsschiff mit seinem Feuerleitradar ein Schiff aus Japan angepeilt haben. Die Regierung in Tokio kritisierte die Provokation damals scharf - und bestellte den Botschafter der Volksrepublik ein.
Seit Monaten streiten Tokio und Peking offen um die unbewohnte Inselgruppe. Sie befindet sich etwa 200 Kilometer vor der Küste Taiwans und rund 400 Kilometer vor der japanischen Insel Okinawa. Die kleinen Inseln liegen strategisch günstig in fischreichen Gewässern, in der Umgebung werden zudem größere Erdöl- und Erdgasvorkommen im Meeresboden vermutet......http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/japan-warnt-vor-aggressor-china-a-910137.html
9/7/13