Japan summons China envoy over mid-air near miss

Tokyo: Japan on Thursday summoned the Chinese ambassador, as the two sides traded accusations of blame for a near miss involving fighter jets over the East China Sea, the second similar incident in less than a month. In the latest confrontation in a long-running territorial dispute, Tokyo says two Chinese SU-27 jets flew just 30 metres away from its aircraft in a spot where the two countries’ air defence zones overlap. “It was an action that was extremely regrettable, and which cannot be tolerated,” said top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga.
It was the second time in less than three weeks that Tokyo has accused Beijing of playing chicken in the skies near the hotly contested Japanese-controlled Senkaku islands, which China also claims and calls the Diaoyus.
China hit back, insisting Japanese pilots had been at fault and that Tokyo was lying to the international community about China’s behaviour.
“The Chinese pilot’s operation was professional, standard and maintained restraint. The Japanese pilot’s practice was dangerous, and obviously provocative in nature,” Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said. (Agencies)