A Chinese aircraft carrier group entered Japan’s economic waters over the weekend, before exiting to conduct drills involving fighter jets, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said yesterday.
The Liaoning aircraft carrier, two missile destroyers and one fast combat supply ship sailed about 300km southwest of Japan’s easternmost island of Minamitori on Saturday, a ministry statement said.
It was the first time a Chinese aircraft carrier had entered that part of Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), a ministry spokesman said.
Photo: Xinhua via AP
“We think the Chinese military is trying to improve its operational capability and ability to conduct operations in distant areas,” the spokesman said.
China’s growing military clout, and use of naval and air assets to press disputed territorial claims have rattled the US and its allies in the Asia-Pacific region.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters yesterday that the government had “conveyed an appropriate message to the Chinese side,” without saying it had lodged a formal protest.
After the Liaoning and its accompanying vessels exited Japan’s EEZ, fighter jets and helicopters conducted takeoffs and landings on Sunday, the ministry statement said.
Japan deployed its warship Haguro to the area to monitor the situation, it added.
The Liaoning last month sailed between two southern Japanese islands within the EEZ, from the East China Sea into the Pacific while conducting takeoffs and landings on deck, the ministry said.
The carrier in September last year sailed between two Japanese islands near Taiwan, and entered Japan’s contiguous waters, an area up to 24 nautical miles (44km) from its coast.
At the time Tokyo called the move “unacceptable” and expressed “serious concerns.”
Under international law, a state has rights to the management of natural resources and other economic activities within its EEZ.
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