China has strongly criticised Japan for its repeated attempts to break the status quo on the Diaoyu Islands. Chinese Navy drills in the western Pacific, south of Japan's Okinawa islands, have been incorrectly interpreted in Japan as demonstrating Chinese expansion of activities on the open seas.
In response, Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force has said it is considering the use of unmanned helicopters to step up its surveillance around the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea.
Tensions between the two Asian giants continue.
China has criticized Japan’s latest string of provocative statements over the security situation in the region, in particular the Diaoyu Islands.
"Japan’s unilateral move on the Diaoyu Islands has been illegal and invalid from the beginning. It is no one but Japan itself that is breaking the status quo on the Diaoyu Islands. China opposes such a move and calls on Japan to show sincerity and take real actions to safeguard regional peace and stability." Said Hua Chuanying, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman.
China’s criticism came a day after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe while addressing troops at a military parade on Sunday, said Tokyo would not "tolerate the use of force to change the region’s status quo". Abe also called for increasing surveillance and intelligence activities.
"The reality today is that Japan’s security situation is increasingly critical over threats to our country’s sovereignty." Abe said.
Relations between China and Japan have been strained in recent years.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Friday, Abe said Japan should take the lead in guarding against what he said might be an attempt by China to use force to attain its diplomatic goals.
Earlier, Abe had even approved a defense plan to intercept and shoot down foreign unmanned aircraft that ignore warnings to leave Japanese airspace.
On Saturday, China’s Defense Ministry responded to the plan saying that if any drones were shot down, it would be a severe provocation and an "act of war". The ministry further said that China would take resolute measures to strike back in that case.
Source: Xinhua
