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China Denies Directing Radar at Japanese Military China Denies Directing Radar at Japanese Military
(about 5 hours later)
HONG KONG — China on Friday denied guiding a radar capable of aiding weapon strikes at a Japanese naval vessel and helicopter near disputed islands, instead accusing Japan of fanning tensions, in the latest exchange to lay bare festering discord between the two countries. HONG KONG — China on Friday denied Japanese accusations that its ships directed a radar capable of aiding weapon strikes at a Japanese naval vessel and helicopter near disputed islands recently, then lobbed its own accusation: that Japan was trying to fan tensions. The latest exchange underscored the depth of a festering discord between the two countries, and trading partners, over the territorial dispute.
The Chinese Ministry of Defense’s account of the two episodes stood bluntly at odds with one given on Tuesday by Japan’s Ministry of Defense, which said that on Jan. 30 a Chinese military vessel trained a radar used to help direct weapons on a Japanese naval destroyer near the islands in the East China Sea. Japan also said that a Chinese frigate directed the same kind of radar at one of its military helicopters on Jan. 19. The tit-for-tat accusations started on Tuesday, when Japan’s Ministry of Defense announced that a Chinese military vessel had trained a radar on a Japanese naval destroyer near the islands in the East China Sea on Jan. 30. The ministry said a Chinese frigate had directed the same kind of radar at one of its military helicopters on Jan. 19.
Because using such “fire-control” radar can precede an attack, the Japanese defense minister, Itsunori Onodera, said that a misstep “could have pushed things into a dangerous situation.”Because using such “fire-control” radar can precede an attack, the Japanese defense minister, Itsunori Onodera, said that a misstep “could have pushed things into a dangerous situation.”
China’s first substantial response to the accusations amounted to a wholesale denial — which only deepened the puzzle of what happened, and who made any of the alleged decisions to use the radar. Japan promptly rejected the statement. China did not respond at the time, but on Friday the Defense Ministry Web site said that the naval vessels’ radar had “maintained normal observational alertness, and there was no use of fire-control radar.” It did not explain what it meant by “normal observational alertness,” though the ministry added that the Japanese claims were “out of step with the facts.”
When Chinese naval vessels encountered the helicopter and destroyer in the East China Sea, their radar had “maintained normal observational alertness, and there was no use of fire-control radar,” said a statement issued on the Chinese defense ministry’s Web site issued by state media late on Thursday. It did not explain what was meant by “normal observational alertness.” For all China’s vehemence, the statement by its defense ministry suggested that senior officials in Beijing want to avoid an escalating quarrel, said Denny Roy, a senior fellow at the East-West Center in Honolulu who researches security issues.
“The Japanese claim that Chinese naval vessel fire-control radars had aimed at a Japanese vessel and craft is out of step with the facts,” said the Chinese defense ministry. “I think it’s a positive development that the Chinese would deny doing this, as opposed to saying, ‘Yes we did it, and we’ll do it again,’ ” said Mr. Roy. “For the Chinese to not want to be portrayed as an aggressor, I think, is a good sign.”
The Chinese defense ministry accompanied its denial with accusations that Japan was to blame for any unnervingly close encounters between their ships and aircraft in the East China Sea area. By contrast, when Japan complained in early January that Chinese ships had entered Japanese-controlled waters near the islands for 13 hours the ambassador responded that the islands belong to China and the Japanese ships that had no right to be there, according to Japanese officials. That incursion was particularly long, but it came amid weeks of cat-and-mouse games between ships and occasionally planes from both countries.
Japan was “deliberately creating a tense atmosphere and misleading international opinion,” the Chinese defense ministry said. This time, the Chinese defense ministry accompanied its denial with accusations that Japan was to blame for any unnervingly close encounters between their ships and aircraft near the islands known as the Diaoyu in China and the Senkaku in Japan, which has controlled them for decades.
Later on Friday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry also dismissed Japan’s assertions as “spun out of thin air,” and argued that they were intended to rekindle tensions. “We have no choice but to stay highly vigilant about Japan’s true intentions,” Hua Chunying, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, told reporters. Japan was “deliberately creating a tense atmosphere and misleading international opinion,” the defense ministry said.
The contested islands are called the Diaoyu in China and the Senkaku in Japan. They are controlled by Japan, but China and Taiwan maintain that history and international law give them rightful claim. Later on Friday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry also dismissed Japan’s assertions as “spun out of thin air.”
Long-standing tensions over the disagreement flared in September, when the Japanese government bought three of the five islands from a private owner, a step that China said amounted to a provocative denial of its territorial claims. Torrid and sometimes violent protests broke out in dozens of Chinese cities. “We have no choice but to stay highly vigilant about Japan’s true intentions,” Hua Chunying, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, told reporters.
In the months since, the Chinese government has underscored its claim to the islands by sending government vessels and military ships and aircraft in their vicinity in a cat-and-mouse contest with Japanese Coast Guard ships. Tensions mounted in January, when both countries sent fighter jets over the East China Sea at the same time. Long-standing tensions over the islands flared in September, when the Japanese government bought three of the five islands from a private owner in what it said was an effort to keep them out of the hands of a Japanese nationalist. China, however, said the purchase amounted to a provocative denial of its territorial claims, and sometimes violent protests broke out in dozens of Chinese cities.
In Tokyo, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga responded Friday at a news conference, saying, “We cannot accept China’s explanation.” In the months since, the Chinese government has underscored its claim to the islands by sending government vessels and military ships and aircraft to the waters near the islands which are patrolled by Japanese Coast Guard ships.
In Tokyo, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga responded Friday to China’s denial about the radar, saying, “We cannot accept China’s explanation.”
“We urge China to take sincere measures to prevent dangerous actions which could cause a contingency situation,” he said.“We urge China to take sincere measures to prevent dangerous actions which could cause a contingency situation,” he said.
Japan earlier said that Russian fighter planes had briefly entered its airspace on Thursday, prompting it to scramble its own aircraft. Russia denied any incursion. Japan earlier said that Russian fighter planes had briefly entered its airspace on Thursday, raising tensions in a separate dispute between those two countries over another set of islands. Russia denied any incursion.
For all China’s vehemence, the statement by its defense ministry about the radar suggested that senior officials in Beijing want to avoid an escalating quarrel, said Denny Roy, a senior fellow at the East-West Center in Honolulu who researches security issues in the Asian region.
“I think it’s a positive development that the Chinese would deny doing this, as opposed to saying, ‘Yes we did it, and we’ll do it again, and maybe we’ll do more than that next time,’ ” said Mr. Roy. “For the Chinese to not want to be portrayed as an aggressor, I think, is a good sign.”
China’s opaque and deeply secretive politics made it difficult to say whether any decision to use the fire-control radar came from the top of the Communist Party leadership or lower rungs of the military, Mr. Roy said. Many experts believe that “such a decision is not likely to be made by the local commander,” he said.
“But that doesn’t discount the possibility that somebody caught up in a situation could make the decision themselves,” Mr. Roy said.

Bree Feng and Patrick Zuo contributed research from Beijing.

Bree Feng and Patrick Zuo contributed research from Beijing.