apanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said the incident happened
on 30 January near islands claimed by both nations in the East China
Sea.
He said this had prompted Tokyo to lodge a formal protest with Beijing.
The row, over islands known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, has escalated in recent months.
'Dangerous situation'
"On 30 January, something like fire-control radar was directed
at a Japan Self-Defence Maritime escort ship in the East China Sea," Mr
Onodera told reporters on Tuesday.
The minister identified the Chinese vessel as a navy frigate,
adding that a Japanese military helicopter was also targeted with a
similar radar a few days earlier.
"Directing such radar is very abnormal. We recognise it would
create a very dangerous situation if a single misstep occurred," he
said.
The dispute over their ownership of the islands has continued
for years, but it reignited in 2012 when the Japanese government
purchased three of the islands from their private Japanese owner.
The eight uninhabited islands and rocks lie close to
strategically important shipping lanes, offer rich fishing grounds and
are thought to contain oil deposits.
Also on Tuesday, the Chinese ambassador to Japan rebuffed an
earlier protest over continuing Chinese patrols off the disputed
islands, according to China's state-run Xinhua news agency.
Ambassador Cheng Yonghua said the islands and the surrounding waters were China's "inherent territory".
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