Apr 21 10:37 AM US/Eastern
(AP) - TOKYO, April 21 (Kyodo) — The Japanese Defense Ministry announced Wednesday that a Chinese navy helicopter flew close to a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer on alert in southern waters off Okinawa Prefecture on Wednesday afternoon.
"A Chinese carrier-borne helicopter approached the destroyer Asayuki on alert for Chinese vessels between around 3:37 p.m. and 3:40 p.m. around 500 kilometers south of the main Okinawa island, coming close to around 90 meters horizontally and around 50 meters vertically and flying in a circle twice," the ministry said in a statement.
The Japanese government lodged a protest with China through diplomatic channels over the incident that followed a similar case earlier this month, saying it was a dangerous act for the navigation of the vessel, the Foreign Ministry said.
According to the Defense Ministry, it has confirmed that personnel aboard a Chinese navy helicopter were taking photos of the MSDF Suzunami destroyer in the East China Sea in the earlier incident on April 8. But it remains unclear what the Chinese side was trying to do in the latest case.
"It feels strange that the Chinese military has taken these provocative actions before and after a summit meeting between the Japanese and Chinese leaders in Washington on April 13," a Japanese government source said, adding there is a question of "how much control Chinese President Hu Jintao has over the military."
In recent years, the Chinese navy has sent its fleet to the Pacific Ocean via the sea near Okinawa, while in the meantime promoting exchanges through mutual port visits with Japan's MSDF.
On April 10, two Chinese submarines and eight destroyers were spotted by the MSDF on the sea between the main island of Okinawa and Miyako Island in the southernmost prefecture.
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