Latest news with #ChinaJapanRelations
NHK
4 days ago
- Politics
- NHK
Japan protests China's new structure construction in E. China Sea over gas field
Japan has lodged a protest with China after detecting work installing a new structure near the median line between the two countries in the East China Sea. The structure appears to be related to gas field development in the area. The Japanese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that the activity has been confirmed on the Chinese side of the line, known as the geographical equidistance line. The director-general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, Kanai Masaaki, issued a protest to a senior diplomat from the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo. The Japanese side said it is extremely regrettable that China is moving forward with unilateral development in the waters. It called on China to resume talks on the implementation of the "June 2008 Agreement." Tokyo and Beijing agreed in 2008 on joint development of gas fields in the East China Sea. But negotiations have stalled. The Japanese ministry says the structure being set up by China is the 20th of its kind, following the one confirmed in May.
South China Morning Post
18-06-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Is China preparing to seize Diaoyu Islands? Japan ex-army chief warns of ‘absorption' plans
A former Japanese military chief has warned that Beijing's increasingly assertive moves around disputed islands in the East China Sea could be setting the stage for a Chinese landing operation. While analysts broadly agree that Beijing is seeking to expand control over the Diaoyu Islands , they differ on how close China might be to launching an outright takeover, with some warning of growing military preparations and others cautioning that a full-scale assault remains premature. In an interview with the conservative Sankei newspaper published on Monday, Kiyofumi Iwata, who previously served as the Japanese Ground Self-Defence Force's chief of staff, said 'the next logical step would be a landing and absorption' of the islands, which are known as the Senkakus in Japan. The uninhabited islets, long a flashpoint in Sino-Japanese ties, are controlled by Tokyo but claimed by Beijing. A Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force surveillance plane flies over the disputed Diaoyu Islands. The islands, long a flashpoint in Sino-Japanese ties, are controlled by Tokyo but claimed by Beijing. Photo: AP Iwata pointed to China's growing maritime presence around the islands over the past two years, including the frequent entry of Chinese coastguard vessels into Japanese territorial waters.
South China Morning Post
13-06-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Japan warns of collision risks after Chinese fighter jet's ‘abnormal approaches'
Japan has expressed serious concerns to Beijing through diplomatic and defence channels after a Chinese fighter jet from the aircraft carrier Shandong made 'abnormal approaches' to a Japanese patrol aircraft over the Pacific Ocean. In a statement, Tokyo's defence ministry said a J-15 fighter shadowed its P-3C patrol aircraft operating over the Pacific for about 40 minutes from 10.30am on Saturday and again for around 80 minutes from 2pm on Sunday. The ministry said the Chinese fighter approached close to a horizontal distance of about 45 metres with no altitude difference and, in another manoeuvre on Sunday, 'crossed approximately 900 metres ahead of the patrol aircraft's course, with no altitude difference'. The ministry also published images of the Chinese aircraft holding a position just off the P-3C's port and starboard wings. 'Such unusual approaches by Chinese military aircraft could lead to an accidental collision,' the ministry said in the statement, calling on Beijing to take steps against a repeat of such an incident. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian, however, said at a press conference on Thursday that the country's military activities 'fully comply with international law and practices'. He insisted Japanese 'close-in reconnaissance activities' of China's 'normal' operations were 'the root cause of maritime and air security risks', according to Kyodo.
The Independent
12-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Japan and China trade blame over Chinese fighter jets flying close to Japanese planes
Japan and China blamed each other on Thursday after Tokyo raised concern that a Chinese fighter jet came dangerously close to Japanese reconnaissance planes. The Chinese fighter jets took off from one of two Chinese aircraft carriers that were operating together for the first time in the Pacific, Japan's Defense Ministry said. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters that Japan conveyed its 'serious concern' to China that such close encounters could cause accidental collisions. According to Japan, a Chinese J-15 fighter jet took off from the Shandong aircraft carrier on Saturday and chased a Japanese P-3C aircraft on reconnaissance duty, coming within an 'abnormally close distance' of 45 meters (50 yards) for about 40 minutes. A Chinese jet also crossed 900 meters (980 yards) in front of a Japanese P-3C for about 80 minutes on Sunday, the ministry said. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian defended China's activities as being fully consistent with international law and practices, and blamed Japanese vessels and airplanes for conducting close reconnaissance of China's military activities. The incidents occurred in the Pacific, where Japan's Self-Defense Force spotted the two carriers, the Shandong and the Liaoning, almost simultaneously operating near southern Japanese islands for the first time. Aircraft carriers are critical to projecting power at a distance. China routinely sends coast guard vessels, warships and warplanes around disputed East China Sea islands, but now they also reach as far as Guam, a U.S. Pacific territory with military bases. Both Chinese carriers operated in waters off Iwo Jima, about 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) south of Tokyo. The Liaoning also sailed inside Japan's exclusive economic zone near Minamitorishima, the country's easternmost island, Japan's Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said. There was no violation of Japanese territorial waters, he said. ___ Associated Press writer Christopher Bodeen in Taipei, Taiwan contributed to this report.
Associated Press
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Japan and China trade blame over Chinese fighter jets flying close to Japanese planes
TOKYO (AP) — Japan and China blamed each other on Thursday after Tokyo raised concern that a Chinese fighter jet came dangerously close to Japanese reconnaissance planes. The Chinese fighter jets took off from one of two Chinese aircraft carriers that were operating together for the first time in the Pacific, Japan's Defense Ministry said. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters that Japan conveyed its 'serious concern' to China that such close encounters could cause accidental collisions. According to Japan, a Chinese J-15 fighter jet took off from the Shandong aircraft carrier on Saturday and chased a Japanese P-3C aircraft on reconnaissance duty, coming within an 'abnormally close distance' of 45 meters (50 yards) for about 40 minutes. A Chinese jet also crossed 900 meters (980 yards) in front of a Japanese P-3C for about 80 minutes on Sunday, the ministry said. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian defended China's activities as being fully consistent with international law and practices, and blamed Japanese vessels and airplanes for conducting close reconnaissance of China's military activities. The incidents occurred in the Pacific, where Japan's Self-Defense Force spotted the two carriers, the Shandong and the Liaoning, almost simultaneously operating near southern Japanese islands for the first time. Aircraft carriers are critical to projecting power at a distance. China routinely sends coast guard vessels, warships and warplanes around disputed East China Sea islands, but now they also reach as far as Guam, a U.S. Pacific territory with military bases. Both Chinese carriers operated in waters off Iwo Jima, about 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) south of Tokyo. The Liaoning also sailed inside Japan's exclusive economic zone near Minamitorishima, the country's easternmost island, Japan's Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said. There was no violation of Japanese territorial waters, he said. ___ Associated Press writer Christopher Bodeen in Taipei, Taiwan contributed to this report.
