A Chinese military vessel aimed a gun at a Maritime Self-Defense Force surveillance plane last month near the disputed site of the Chinese Chunxiao gas field in the East China Sea, a government source said Saturday.
The MSDF P3-C patrolling the region Sept. 9 spotted five Chinese military vessels, and one of them -- a missile frigate -- pointed the 100-mm coaxial gun on its bow toward the plane, the source said.
The Defense Agency believes the move was likely meant only as intimidation because the P3-C's threat inidicator did not show that the vessel's targeting radar had locked onto the plane, the source said.
China and Japan are struggling to resolve a dispute over Chinese oil and gas exploration around disputed waters in the East China Sea, with two days of talks in Tokyo ending Saturday without bridging the differences.
The Chunxiao gas field is about 2 km inside the Chinese side of what Japan claims to be the median line separating the two countries' 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zones in the East China Sea. China does not recognize that median line.
The source said the five vessels were moving around the Chunxiao field without entering the Japanese side of the median line when the frigate trained its gun turret on the plane, and the P3-C's crew took a photo.
Based on the response manual, the aircraft immediately left the area, the source said.
The P3-C can carry missiles and torpedoes, but they are normally not armed while on a regular patrol.