Japanese warship admits receiving advance notice by Chinese aircraft carrier

A Japanese warship acknowledged receiving advance notice from the Chinese Navy before the CNS Liaoning aircraft carrier group conducted carrier-based aircraft training, the China Media Group reported on Tuesday.

On Saturday, the Liaoning carrier group carried out far-sea training in waters east of the Miyako Strait after publicly announcing the relevant sea and air training zones, according to the Chinese Ministry of National Defense.

Yuyuantantian, an online news account affiliated to CMG, reported that the People's Liberation Army Navy formation had repeatedly informed nearby Japanese ships of the planned training, and that the Japanese vessels confirmed receipt of the notification.

According to an audio recording released in the report, a Chinese naval sailor radioed in both Chinese and English: "Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship No 116, this is Chinese Navy warship No 101. Our formation organizes shipboard aircraft flight training as planned."

The Japanese vessel responded: "Chinese warship No 101, this is Japan warship No 116. I have received your message," the recording showed.

According to the CMG report, after the Chinese Navy began the training, Japanese aircraft flew close to disrupt the exercise and intruded into the pre-announced training zones, at times coming to within less than 50 kilometers of Chinese fighter jets.

The report noted that the air-detection range of the main radar systems on major fighter jets worldwide typically exceeds 50 kilometers.

On Sunday, Japan's Defense Ministry accused Chinese fighter jets of using radar on a Japanese aircraft.

In response, both the Chinese Navy and the Chinese Ministry of National Defense issued statements rejecting what they called deliberate smears by the Japanese side, saying that in fact, Japanese aircraft had engaged in malicious close-in tracking and repeatedly intruded into the training zones designated and announced by China.

The Chinese Navy noted that Japanese actions "seriously affected the Chinese side's normal exercise and posed a serious threat to flight safety".