A high-level Chinese official has called for talks with Japan over a disputed island chain, in an apparent attempt by Beijing to cool tensions that have seen both sides scramble jet fighters to the area in recent days.
US and Japanese fighter jets on Tuesday carried out joint air exercises, an official said, days after Chinese and Japanese military planes shadowed each other near disputed islands in the East China Sea.
China’s armed forces have been instructed to raise their fighting ability in 2013, state media reported Tuesday, amid heightened tensions with Japan over disputed islands.
Japan plans to spend $2.1 billion on its military over the next few months as part of a huge stimulus package, a defense ministry official said Wednesday, amid growing concerns over a rising China.
Japan scrambled fighter jets Saturday to head off a Chinese state-owned plane that flew near islands at the center of a dispute between Tokyo and Beijing, a Japanese Defense Ministry spokesman said.
China has transferred two destroyers and nine other ex-navy vessels to its maritime surveillance fleet, reports said Monday, as it moves to beef up its position in bitter territorial rows with Japan and other neighbours.
China has granted its border patrol police the right to board and expel foreign ships entering disputed waters in the South China Sea, including parts known as West Philippine Sea, state media reported on Thursday.
Four Chinese government ships were in the territorial waters of disputed Tokyo-controlled islands on Friday, Japan’s coastguard said.
When gun-toting Chinese guards spotted Tran Hien’s unarmed wooden fishing boat in disputed waters, they seized his vessel, detained his crew and threw him in jail.
Chinese ships entered waters near a group of disputed islands for the first time in three weeks Thursday, prompting a strong protest from Japan, which says China’s air force has also sharply increased its operations in the area.
China’s Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi sparked angry exchanges with Japanese diplomats at the United Nations by accusing Japan of stealing disputed islands.
China has accused Japan of “grossly violating” Chinese sovereignty by its purchase of some islands in a dispute that has sparked violent anti-Japan protests.
Japan’s prime minister said Wednesday his nation is not willing to compromise in its territorial dispute with China over remote islands that have spawned violent anti-Japan protests.
