Flare-up fabricated by Japan

Fire-control radar row is Tokyo's attempt to get more overt outside support and push for constitutional change

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has urged the European Union to maintain its embargo on arms exports to China because of the heightened tensions in the East China Sea. But it is Japan that is guilty of escalating regional tensions. It is busy playing up a "China threat" to mislead international opinion, so that it can achieve its long-standing military ambitions.

In February, Japan claimed that a Chinese navy ship put a radar lock on a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer in the East China Sea in January. The Japanese media, dancing to the government's tune, accused China of other such provocations and said it was pushing the two countries to the brink of war.