Beijing issued a statement saying Japanese spy vehicles posed a threat to Chinese ships and planes. The comments come just days after Tokyo said it has been increasingly forced to scramble fighter jets in response to Russian and Chinese incursions.
In a statement sent to Reuters, China's Defense Ministry said
that Beijing “has a grip on the tracking and surveillance by
Japanese ships and aircraft.”
"In recent years, Japanese ships and aircraft have often
followed and monitored for lengthy periods and at close distances
Chinese ships and aircraft, threatening the safety of the Chinese
side," the ministry said.
"This is the cause of the safety issue in the seas and air
between China and Japan," it added.
READ MORE: China building a ‘great wall of sand’ in South China Sea– US Navy
Japan's air force said it has been forced to boost the number of
fighter jet scrambles due to Russian bombers carrying out
maneuvers in the north and Chinese combat aircraft “intruding
into its southern air space.”
Tokyo says the Chinese breaches of its borders are concentrated
in the East China Sea, close to island territory claimed by both
Japan and China.
Both sides regularly dispatch military vessels and aircraft near
the contested islands, stoking fears that an accident could
trigger a dangerous incident.
READ MORE: Japan approves largest military budget since WWII
In January, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet gave the green
light to an unprecedented nearly 5 trillion yen ($42 billion)
defense budget, which comes into force in April. The increase
reportedly includes the relocation of US military forces
stationed on the Japanese Island of Okinawa.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has also ended a ban on Japanese
soldiers fighting abroad, as well as easing curbs on weapons
exports.
All of this presents a concern for China, which has overtaken
Japan as the world’s second largest economy. Beijing has boosted
its defense spending fourfold over the last decade to 808 billion
yuan ($132 billion).
In March, China announced that its military budget is scheduled to grow by around 10 percent this year to about $145 billion.