Japan Cancels Chinese Aegis Ship Tour

Japan canceled plans to give Chinese navy officers a tour of the Aegis destroyer Kirishima (7250 tons) due to U.S. objections, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Friday.

The plan for a tour of the Aegis destroyer was requested by China to reinforce defense ties between the two nations. 10 Chinese naval officers were scheduled to visit Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces (JMSDF) bases and inspect the warship, which is based in Yokosuka.

In this past August, the JMSDF and Chinese navy had agreed to mutual visits aboard their destroyers. Accordingly the Chinese warship Shenzhen (6000 tons) arrived at Harumi pier in Tokyo on November 28.

However, Japan canceled the plan after the U.S. military and the U.S. embassy in Japan requested its cancellation, citing worries about the leakage of confidential information.

Chinese officials visited the supply ship Tokiwa instead, which has returned from a refueling mission in the Indian Ocean. The JMSDF said that, “We thought showing the Chinese a warship without a core Aegis system would be OK, but we misjudged the matter.”

Yomiuri pointed out, “Due to the leakage of Aegis information that happened early this year, U.S. military has doubted the JMSDF’s capability to manage information ever since.”

sya@donga.com