Kings of the East watch... Japan on Friday denied interfering with Chinese military exercises in the western Pacific after Beijing lodged a formal diplomatic protest, saying Chinas objections were unacceptable and it had acted in line with international law. Ties between the Asian neighbors have been strained for months by a long and bitter dispute over islands in the East China Sea believed to be surrounded by energy-rich waters, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said his nation is ready to be more assertive towards China. Chinas defense ministry on Thursday slammed Japans dangerous provocation in shadowing the drills, without clearly stating the location. It also said Japan had disrupted the live fire exercises. Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters that Japan had done nothing to interfere with the exercises, which he said were carried out in the sea southeast of the Sakishima island chain, south of the disputed islands known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China. We have carried out the usual precautionary observations in accordance with international law, Onodera said. Chinas views are unacceptable. Chinese defence ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said on Thursday that Japanese patrols of ships and aircraft were gathering information about the exercises. This is a highly dangerous provocation, and Chinas defence ministry has made solemn representations to the Japanese side, he added, according to a transcript of his remarks on the ministrys website. news.yahoo/japan-rejects-chinese-protests-over-sea-drills-denies-031941767.html
Posted on: Fri, 01 Nov 2013 09:59:18 +0000