Tokyo, 20 April, /AJMEDIA/
Japan has lodged a protest with China for not providing sufficient information about its recent launch of a weather satellite, despite the risk of debris from the rocket dropping near Japanese waters in the East China Sea, Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Wednesday.
“It is extremely regrettable,” Hayashi told a House of Representatives session, noting Japan had “strongly requested an appropriate response, including a detailed explanation” from China before the rocket was launched on Sunday, he said.
Beijing did not respond to Tokyo’s requests, according to a Japanese Foreign Ministry source. There have been no reports of damage from rocket debris so far.
China set up no-fly and no-sail zones in the East China Sea before the launch, given the possibility of falling debris. The areas were located north of Taiwan and near the Senkaku Islands, Japanese-controlled uninhabited islets claimed by China and known as Diaoyu. The latter area covered a part of Japan’s economic exclusive zone.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said Thursday that Japan had urged China to ensure the safety of Japanese vessels operating near the area.
The satellite was launched amid intensifying U.S.-China tensions over Taiwan, a self-ruled democratic island Beijing regards as its territory to be united with the mainland, by force if necessary.
Tensions grew further after a meeting early this month in Los Angeles between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy, with China responding by conducting military drills.
