TOKYO, Dec 10 (Reuters) – Japanese fighter jets did not aim radar at Chinese jets during Saturday’s close encounter incidents, Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said on Wednesday, in response to a Chinese media report disputing Japan’s account on the event.
Prior to the incidents, a Chinese navy vessel had notified Japanese counterparts of air drills without giving details, but regardless of the notification, it was natural for Japan to scramble jets as part of air defence measures, Koizumi told reporters.
Japan has said Chinese fighter jets from the aircraft carrier Liaoning on Saturday aimed their radar at Japanese planes in two incidents near Japan’s Okinawa islands.
(Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Tom Hogue)
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