New Post from Naval and Marine – >China slams Japan for interfering in naval drills

Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said on Thursday that a Japanese navy ship entered the exercise zone on October 25 and stayed for three days. 

Yang said Japanese ships and aircraft stayed close by for days conducting “high intensity” tracking and surveillance. 

He said the move came despite a Chinese notice to ships that its navy would be conducting drills in the area. 

“Not only do those actions constitute interference in our normal training activities, they also threaten the safety of our ships and planes and could lead to accidents or miscalculations,” Yang told reporters. 

The defense ministry official called on Japan to put an end to such “provocations” or “bear responsibility for the consequences,” stressing that China “reserves the right to take further measures.” 

China and Japan have been involved in a bitter contention over the group of the uninhabited islands in the East China Sea 

The yearlong island dispute has strained the diplomatic ties between the rivals. This is while coast guard vessels regularly confront each other in waters around the islands. 

The dispute rose to a new height in September 2012 when the Japanese government nationalized them against China’s objections. 

The islands, known as the Diaoyus in Chinese and as the Senkakus in Japanese, are believed to be sitting atop large deposits of natural gas. 

MRS/AB 

John Currin