Japan to assess China's intent for targeting radarThe Japanese government is trying to determine what was behind the Chinese navy's use of a radar lock on a Japanese navy vessel and a helicopter last month.
The government also plans with its ally the United States to urge China to ensure that there is no repeat of the incidents.A Chinese Navy frigate aimed its fire radar at a Maritime Self Defense Force helicopter on January 19th. Another frigate radar-locked onto an MSDF destroyer 11 days later.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman on Wednesday denied any knowledge of the incidents, saying she learned about them via media reports.
Japanese government officials say China likely doesn't want to give the impression it is behind the actions.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters on Wednesday that China's intent needs to be cautiously analyzed.Senior foreign and defense officials of Japan and the US will discuss the incidents in Washington on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau chief, Shinsuke Sugiyama, said Japan would work with the US to seek self restraint from China in its military activities.
Feb. 6, 2013 - Updated 23:06 UTC (08:06 JST)
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20130207_03.html
BY Michelle FlorCruz | February 05 2013 10:10 AM
Tensions in the East China Sea continue to escalate over a group of disputed islands, as Japan accuses China of aiming a missile-guidance radar in the direction of a Japanese navy vessel.
Japan’s Defense Minister, Itsunori Onodera, lodged a formal protest against Beijing over the missile threat on Tuesday.
Onodera said that the incident happened at the end of January near the Senkaku (according to Japan) or Diaoyu (according to China) islands, when a warship locked its missile radar on the Japanese destroyer Yuudachi.
In a press conference in Tokyo, Onodera condemned China’s most recent actions in the disputed area for creating a dangerous environment.
“This is extremely abnormal behavior, and we believe with a small mistake it could have led to a very dangerous situation,” Onodera said. “It was a dangerous action.”
A professor at China’s National Defense University, China’s version of West Point, claims that China would only act if first provoked by the Japanese.
“If this is true, the Chinese ships would only have taken such steps to send a warning to Japanese naval vessels after being threatened by them,” Colonel Dai Xu said, as reported by the Financial Times.
Known as the Diaoyu Islands to the Chinese and the Senkaku Islands to the Japanese, the small cluster of islands in the East China Sea -- which may be sitting on vast oil reserves -- has been the cause of growing pressure on Sino-Japanese relations. This is not the first time China has made its military presence surrounding the islands known. Last October, the Japanese coast guard reported two incidents where Chinese surveillance ships were spotted in what Tokyo claimed was Japanese water. In December, the Japanese and Chinese military made contact near the islands. A Chinese maritime surveillance aircraft was spotted flying in Japanese-controlled airspace over the territory and was intercepted by several jet fighters from the Japan Air Self-Defense Forces.
Both Asian powers claim sovereignty over the islands. Last year, anti-Japanese protests turned violent in Beijing and other Chinese cities; sales of Japanese products in China have taken a hit.
Violence on the ground threatened the safety of Japanese expatriates and stability within China. Efforts to defuse tension have included diplomatic dialogue between the two nations at the top level. Japan's Deputy Foreign Minister Chikao Kawai met with several Chinese officials, including his counterpart, Zhang Zhijun, in Shanghai last fall
That does not convince some experts, who believe the situation will end in an armed confrontation, perhaps even this year.
Hugh White, a professor at the Australian National University, made a prediction in an opinion piece published in the Sydney Morning Herald, saying that the current tug-of-war over the mutually claimed islands will spark another war. White even predicted that Japan’s ally, the United States, would also get involved.
http://www.ibtimes.com/china-aims-mi...slands-1062100
照射から数秒で射撃可能…攻撃に準じる危険行為小野寺防衛相は５日夜、東シナ海で１月３０日、警戒監視中の海上自衛隊の護衛艦に対し、中国海 軍艦艇が射撃 の目標をとらえる火器管制用のレーダー照射をしたと発表した。
同月１９日にも、東シナ海で中国海軍艦艇が、飛行中の海上自衛隊艦艇の搭載ヘリにレーダーを 照射した疑い があるとした。いずれも公海上で起きたという。日本政府は外交ルートを通じ、中国に抗議した。 中国側が軍事 衝突につながりかねない行動に踏み切ったことで、日中関係の緊張がさらに高まるのは必至だ。
他国の艦船などに射撃用のレーダーを照射することは「明確な威嚇行為」（防衛省幹部）で、実 際の攻撃に準 じる危険な行為だ。
防衛省によると、１月３０日午前１０時頃、東シナ海の公海上で海自第７護衛隊の護衛艦「ゆう だち」が航行 中に、中国海軍のフリゲート艦「ジャンウェイ２級」からレーダー照射を受けた。政府関係者によ ると、尖閣諸 島の北方百数十キロだったという。護衛艦のデータを分析した結果、中国の火器管制用レーダーと 判明した。照 射は数分間続き、護衛艦は進路変更などの回避行動を取った。距離は約３キロ離れていた。中国艦 艇から事前の 警告などはなかったという。一般的に、照射から数秒で射撃可能という。
（2013年2月6日07時43分 読売新聞）
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/ne...OYT1T01270.htm
2013.2.5 18:34
小野寺五典防衛相は５日夜、防衛省で緊急記者会見を開き、東シナ海の公海上で１月３０日、中 国海軍の艦艇 が海上自衛隊の護衛艦に対し、射撃管制用のレーダーを照射したと発表した。同月１９日にも別の 艦艇が海自の ヘリコプターに同様の照射を行った可能性が高いことも明らかにした。レーダーはミサイルなどを 発射する際に 対象を捕捉するためのもので、攻撃を前提とする中国側の挑発行為が判明したのは初めて。
日本政府は５日、在日中国大使館や中国の外務、国防両省に厳重抗議し、中国側は「事実関係を 確認したい」 と答えた。
防衛省によると、１月３０日午前１０時ごろ、中国海軍のジャンウェイＩＩ級フリゲート艦が約 ３キロ先から 海自護衛艦「ゆうだち」にレーダーを照射。同月１９日午後５時ごろにも、中国海軍のジャンカイ Ｉ級フリゲー ト艦が数キロ先から海自護衛艦「おおなみ」搭載ヘリにレーダーを照射したと疑われる事案が発生 した。
小野寺氏は「一歩間違えば大変危険な事態が発生する。危険な行為には厳しく自制を求めていく 」と述べた。 事案発生から発表まで約１週間かかった理由については「正確な分析に時間がかかった」と説明し た。
安倍晋三首相は５日午後、小野寺氏と官邸で対応を協議。首相は「挑発に乗ってはいけない。冷 静に対処する ことが大事だ」と述べ、万全な対応を取るとともに外交ルートで中国側へ抗議するよう指示した。
昨年９月の沖縄県・尖閣諸島の国有化以降、尖閣周辺では中国による挑発行為が活発化している 。
http://sankei.jp.msn.com/politics/ne...8340021-n1.htm
Japan protests to China after radar pointed at vesselFebruary 05, 2013
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN AND WIRE REPORTSA Chinese navy vessel directed a type of radar normally used to aim weapons at a target at a Maritime Self-Defense Force ship in the East China Sea, prompting Japan to protest, Japan's defense minister said on Feb. 5, which could complicate efforts to cool tensions in their territorial row.
Itsunori Onodera told reporters on Feb. 5 about the incident that occurred on Jan. 30 in the East China Sea.
"This is an extremely unusual development, and there is the possibility of the situation moving into a very dangerous one with one false step," the Japanese defense minister said.
He added that a similar incident occurred on Jan. 19 in which a Chinese navy ship directed fire-control radar at a Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopter.
According to Defense Ministry officials, a Chinese Navy frigate directed what is believed to be radar at the MSDF destroyer Yudachi that was about three kilometers away at about 10 a.m. on Jan. 30.
The directing of radar at the MSDF helicopter that took off from the destroyer Onami occurred at around 5 p.m. on Jan. 19.
Onodera said the directing of such radar would not normally be conducted.
"Because there is the possibility that a very dangerous situation could arise if there is one false step, Japan and other nations that possess such ships do not emit the radar that are used for fire control," Onodera said. "We will ask China to demonstrate restraint so that such dangerous acts are not conducted that could lead to such a situation."
The day before the MSDF helicopter had the radar directed at it, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Clinton said the United States was opposed to any act that hindered Japan's administrative control over the Senkaku Islands. It was the first time the United States referred to acts by other nations in relation to the Senkakus.
Hopes have been rising for a thaw in ties between Asia's two biggest economies since a chill began in September when Tokyo nationalized a chain of rocky, uninhabited isles in the East China Sea.
In particular, there are hopes for a leaders' summit to help ease the strains that a junior Japanese coalition partner said on Feb. 5 could take place as early as April.
But deep mistrust, simmering nationalism in both countries and bitter Chinese memories of Japan's wartime aggression mean the road to a summit will be rocky and any rapprochement fragile.
The long-running row over the islands, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China, has in recent months escalated to the point where both sides have scrambled fighter jets while patrol ships shadow each other.
Chinese officials were not available for comment on Japan's complaint about the radar, but a Chinese spokeswoman earlier urged Japan to stop what she called provocation.
"We believe that what is most urgent is for Japan to stop provocative actions like regularly sending in ships and aircraft into the waters around the Diaoyu Islands and seek, via talks with China, an effective way to appropriately control and resolve this issue," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a news conference when asked about Chinese ships operating in waters near the disputed islands.
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_...AJ201302050100
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- A Chinese warship last week directed "fire-control" radar at a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer in the East China Sea, where Japan and China are involved in a dispute over the ownership of a group of uninhabited islands, Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said Tuesday.
As the radar activated was for targeting and the move could have set off an inadvertent military clash, Japan lodged a protest with China in Tokyo and Beijing on Tuesday afternoon, just hours after Japan condemned China over the intrusion of two Chinese vessels into its territorial waters around the islands the previous day.
The radar beaming, which a Japanese government source said had occurred in waters off the Japanese-administered, Chinese-claimed Senkaku Islands, called Diaoyu in China, is all but certain to further heighten tensions between the two countries.
"Beaming of radar for firing is very abnormal, and it could have put us in a very dangerous situation if one mistake were made," Onodera said at a press conference, urging the Chinese side to refrain from making such aggressive moves.
When Tokyo lodged a protest with Beijing, the Chinese side said it first intends to confirm the facts about what took place, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters.
In the incident that took place on the high seas in the East China Sea at around 10 a.m. on Jan. 30, a frigate of the Chinese navy directed fire-control radar at the MSDF's Yuudachi, which was conducting surveillance activities at the time, according to the Defense Ministry.
The two ships were about 3 kilometers apart, Onodera said, while declining to elaborate on where exactly the incident took place. A ministry official said the radar was beamed "for minutes."
By directing fire-control radar, the side activating it can determine a target's distance, direction, speed and altitude, among other things, and weapons linked to the radar can be fired immediately, according to the ministry.
Asked why the ministry announced the incident about a week after it occurred, Onodera said it took until Tuesday for the ministry to determine that fire-control radar had in fact been beamed at the MSDF vessel.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe instructed Onodera to handle the case properly and lodge a protest with the Chinese government so as "not to have a similar incident," the defense chief said.
Abe also said it is important not to react to the Chinese "provocation," noting the importance of handling the case calmly, according to a government official.
In a similar occurrence in the East China Sea around 5 p.m. on Jan. 19, another Chinese frigate was suspected of having directed fire-control radar at an MSDF helicopter in flight.
A warning went off on the helicopter, which was attached to the MSDF destroyer Oonami and was on a surveillance mission at the time, indicating the helicopter had been targeted with radar, according to the minister.
No firing occurred in either incident.
News of the incidents prompted some Japanese lawmakers to call for steps to prevent a similar incident, while vexing others about Chinese moves that could worsen already deteriorating ties between the two countries.
"This act damages the trust between the two countries," Shigeru Ishiba, secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, told reporters, adding that one needs to look into whether Beijing had condoned the act or whether Chinese navy personnel had acted on their own.
A senior member of the New Komeito party, the junior coalition partner of Abe's LDP, said the incidents occurred at a "bad time" given that Chinese leader Xi Jinping had expressed readiness to improve relations with Japan in a meeting on Jan. 25 in Beijing with a delegation of the lay Buddhist party.
Earlier Tuesday, Japan lodged a protest with China over the intrusion of two Chinese maritime surveillance ships in Japanese territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands for more than 14 hours on Monday.
Deputy Foreign Minister Akitaka Saiki summoned Chinese Ambassador to Japan Cheng Yonghua to the Foreign Ministry, telling him the intrusions ran "totally counter" to expectations for improved bilateral relations, according to the Foreign Ministry.
Japan-China relations remain tense over the islands, particularly after the Japanese government purchased three of the five main islands in the Senkaku group last September from a private Japanese owner to bring them under state control.
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