Japan says China and Russia held live-fire drill in its economic waters

Chinese and Russian naval forces conducted a joint live-fire exercise with machine guns inside Japan's exclusive economic zone, Tokyo said Tuesday. China rejected the accusation and said Japan had exaggerated the issue.

Japanese media said the Sunday incident was the first time Japan's defence ministry had spotted and publicly disclosed a Chinese live-fire drill inside the zone.

Japan's top government spokesperson, Minoru Kihara, said Tokyo viewed the drill as part of efforts by the Chinese and Russian militaries to strengthen cooperation.

Officials said a Chinese Luyang III-class missile destroyer carried out the exercise 180 kilometres southwest of Okinotori island, Japan's southernmost territory, alongside a Russian naval vessel. They said a fleet of three Chinese ships and a Russian navy frigate had first been seen at about 2:00 am, or 1700 GMT Saturday, 330 kilometres southwest of the island and moving northeast.

Kihara said Japan told Beijing through diplomatic channels that the drill could have endangered nearby vessels. He said Japan sent air and sea assets to watch and monitor the situation and would continue to follow Chinese and Russian vessel activity around Japan with concern.

China's foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said the accusations were completely groundless. He said Japan had smeared what he called legitimate and lawful activities by other countries and had exaggerated external threats. He said China firmly rejected the accusations.

The source said Chinese and Russian air forces jointly flew bombers over waters around Japan last month, and that their navies also held a joint exercise this month.

The report also cited recent tensions between Japan and China. Ships from the two countries' coast guards faced off this month near uninhabited islands claimed by Japan as the Senkaku and by China as the Diaoyu. Each side said it drove out the other's vessels from territorial waters.

Relations between Japan and China have worsened since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made comments in November about Taiwan. The source said Takaichi suggested Japan could intervene militarily if China attacked self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory. It also said Japan under Takaichi has moved toward a more proactive defence policy, with encouragement from the United States.