TOKYO: A Chinese aircraft carrier group entered Japan’s economic waters over the weekend, before exiting to conduct drills involving fighter jets, Tokyo’s defence ministry said on Monday (Jun 9).
The Liaoning carrier, two missile destroyers and one fast combat supply ship sailed around 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 Japanese defence ministry spokesman told AFP.
“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 United States and its allies in the Asia-Pacific region.
Tokyo’s chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters on Monday 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 take-offs and landings on Sunday, the ministry statement said.
Japan deployed its warship Haguro to the area to monitor the situation, it added.
