Japan's navy said yesterday it was keeping a close eye on Chinese military moves after five warships were spotted near disputed gas fields and the reported incursion of a spy plane.
Japan said Friday it saw Chinese warships, including a destroyer, for the first time near the gas field in the East China Sea amid high tensions between the two countries.
"We are aware of most of their [China's] activities and we will do our utmost to monitor the situation," said Admiral Takashi Saito, the chief of staff of Japan's Maritime Self Defense Force.
PHOTO: AP
The ships were seen just on China's side of what Japan considers the dividing line in the sea. China does not recognize the line.
Meanwhile, Kyodo News, citing unnamed sources in a dispatch from Washington, said a Chinese spy plane was spotted twice last month over the East China Sea south of mainland Japan's southern island of Kyushu.
The plane was flying in Japanese airspace and could likely catch radio waves and electronic data from Japanese warships or military facilities, it said. The aircraft seemed to be carrying out an exercise or test in Japan's designated air defense zone, Kyodo quoted an unidentified source as saying.
China has never confirmed the existence of such a plane but the US Defense Department believes Beijing is focusing on "electronic warfare" as it expands its military spending, the report said.
Japan's Defense Agency is aware of the spy plane report but had no immediate comment, a spokesman said.
Kyodo said this was the first time a Chinese electronic surveillance aircraft had been spotted, and quoted its sources as saying the plane's purpose was identified by its external features and flight pattern.
Both Japan and the US have recently expressed concern about China's growing military spending.
Meanwhile, the Japanese government announced yesterday that it hopes to reach an agreement with the US next month on a realignment of US forces in the country.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
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