China on Sunday lodged a counter-protest to Japan over recent fighter jet engagement, saying Tokyo is hyping "so-called radar illumination" to build up tension.
It comes hours after Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said that the carrier-based aircraft of China's Liaoning formation directed radar at Japan Air Self-Defense Force fighter jets in open waters southeast of Okinawa Island.
Takaichi urged China to "prevent recurrence of radar lock on Japanese jets" as the two countries made conflicting claims regarding recent fighter jet engagements.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, in a statement, said that China does not accept the "so-called" protest from the Japanese side and has rejected it on the spot and lodged counter-protests in Beijing and Tokyo.
"Under the current circumstances, the Japanese side, by hyping up the so-called issue of 'radar illumination,' is deliberately making a false accusation against China to build up tension and mislead the international community. It is purely ill-intentioned," the spokesperson stated.
Beijing's Defense Ministry, in a separate statement, said that the Liaoning aircraft carrier formation was "approached and harassed" by Japanese warplanes during a recent regular training in the far seas.
Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang said that China's Liaoning aircraft carrier formation is in line with international law and practice.
"However, Japan maliciously tracked and harassed Chinese activities, repeatedly dispatched aircraft to intrude into the training area designated and announced by the Chinese side, and afterward smeared China's normal operations," Zhang added.
The latest development comes as tensions run high between Beijing and Tokyo following Takaichi's remarks on Nov. 7 that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could legally constitute a "survival-threatening situation," potentially allowing Japan to "exercise the right of collective self-defense." Her statement raised tensions between the two countries.
China sharply criticized the comments, urged tourists not to visit Japan, suspended seafood imports, and also postponed a trilateral culture ministers' meeting with Japan and South Korea.
Taiwan is claimed by Beijing and lies near Japan's Yonaguni Island.
