China on Sunday denied that it had risked a collision in close encounters with Air Self-Defense Force surveillance aircraft over the East China Sea last week, calling ¡°close-in reconnaissance and harassment¡± by the Japanese side ¡°the root cause¡± of the latest incident.
Chinese JH-7 fighter-bombers came within 30 meters of the Japanese YS-11EB electronic intelligence aircraft on Wednesday and Thursday, according to the Defense Ministry in Tokyo, making ¡°unusual approaches¡± over international waters.
But Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Jiang Bin called the move ¡°entirely justified, reasonable, professional and up to standard¡± after ASDF aircraft ¡°repeatedly entered China¡¯s East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) for close-in surveillance.¡±
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