Tokyo, Nov 30: Japan cancelled a tour for
visiting Chinese sailors of an advanced aegis-equipped warship
due to US concern that Beijing could gather confidential
information, a newspaper said.
The defence ministry denied the report in the Yomiuri
Shimbun, which said that the Chinese naval crew had been slated to
visit Japan's Aegis-equipped Kirishima warship on Friday.
The Shenzhen destroyer with more than 300 sailors is
this week paying the first port call by communist China's navy
to Japan in the latest effort by the Asian powers to repair
relations.
The Aegis system seen as Japan's top line of defence
against a potential North Korean attack has a cutting-edge
radar and can launch missiles at more than 10 targets at one
time.
The US military, which protects officially pacifist
Japan under a security alliance, and the US embassy intervened
to cancel the tour of the Kirishima, which is based in
Yokosuka south of Tokyo, the Yomiuri said, quoting unnamed
sources.
A defence ministry spokeswoman denied the report,
saying "we decide which ship to show depending on their
schedule that day for training. Today the Kirishima is away
from Yokosuka port, so physically they can't visit it."
The United States has voiced concern this year after a
Japanese petty officer allegedly obtained confidential data
on the Aegis system. The officer's wife is a Chinese, raising
worries about possible espionage.
The United States and China have recently been at
loggerheads over naval affairs.
Bureau Report
