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TOKYO — Matching China’s stern language with warnings of his own, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan vowed on Monday to defend his nation’s airspace after China declared an air defense zone over a Japanese group of islands in the East China Sea.
Speaking in Parliament, Mr. Abe called China’s move an unacceptable effort to change the status quo with threats of force.
He described it as a dangerous ratcheting up of tensions in the standoff over the uninhabited islands, which are administered by Japan.
“We are determined to defend our country’s air and sea space,” Mr. Abe said.
“We are determined to defend our country’s air and sea space,” Mr. Abe said.
“The measures by the Chinese side have no validity whatsoever for Japan.”
China and Japan have been locked in an escalating war of words and nerves over the islands for more than a year.
China and Japan have been locked in an escalating war of words and nerves over the islands for more than a year.
China’s declaration on Saturday that it would identify and possibly take military action against aircraft flying near the islands follows a long period of frequent dispatches of Chinese coast guard ships and aircraft to the area to challenge Japan’s control.
Mr. Abe’s effort to draw a line in the sand reflects his promises to lead his nation in standing up to China, which has eclipsed Japan as Asia’s top economic power.
Mr. Abe’s effort to draw a line in the sand reflects his promises to lead his nation in standing up to China, which has eclipsed Japan as Asia’s top economic power.
Since taking office in December, Mr. Abe, an outspoken conservative, has raised defense spending for the first time in a decade, and has increased military ties with the United States.
Japan has repeatedly signaled to China since Saturday that it has no intention of yielding control of airspace over the Senkaku islands.
Japan has repeatedly signaled to China since Saturday that it has no intention of yielding control of airspace over the Senkaku islands.
On Monday, the Japanese vice foreign minister, Akitaka Saiki, summoned China’s ambassador to Japan, Cheng Yonghua, to demand that China repeal the air defense zone, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Mr. Cheng replied that the Chinese air zone was not aimed at a specific country and would not affect civilian air traffic, according to Kyodo News.
Mr. Cheng replied that the Chinese air zone was not aimed at a specific country and would not affect civilian air traffic, according to Kyodo News.
In Beijing, a Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman said that Japan had “no right to make irresponsible remarks,” because Japan has maintained a similar air defense zone over the islands, the state-run news agency Xinhua reported.
As the standoff has escalated, Japan has also sought to bind itself more closely to the United States, which has been the guarantor of Japanese security since the end of World War II.
As the standoff has escalated, Japan has also sought to bind itself more closely to the United States, which has been the guarantor of Japanese security since the end of World War II.
On Monday, the top Japanese government spokesman and chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, said that Japan would work with the United States to urge China to allow aircraft to continue flying freely near the islands, which lie between Okinawa and Taiwan.
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