Japan and China accuse each other of lying. Xinhua slams Tokyo for tarnishing "China's image" to "gain sympathy". Chinese Navy begins naval exercises in the Western Pacific.

Tokyo (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Japan may release data that will show that a Chinese naval vessel direct its fire control radar at a Japanese destroyer, a step usually taken as a prelude to firing.

A few days ago, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his foreign minister slammed Beijing for the incident, a reaction Beijing rejected, saying that radar tracking was not a prelude to a launch but a simple test. In China itself, the war of words continued in local media.

"By spreading false accusations and posing as a poor victim, Japan had intended to tarnish China's image so as to gain sympathy and support, but a lie does not help," Xinhua wrote in a commentary on its English-language edition.

For his part, Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera (pictured) said the Chinese radar lock amounted to a "threat of force". For Japan's Prime Minister Abe, the radar incident was "dangerous" and "provocative".

Since his election in December, Sino-Japanese tensions have increased over a group of islands called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.

Although China's news leader, Xi Jinping, has called for dialogue, the People's Liberation Army, of which Xi is the nominal leader, continues to employ a bellicose language.

For the Lunar New Year, China's Navy has also launched a series of exercises in the western Pacific to show its readiness and defend national sovereignty.

• china
• japan
• naval
• confrontation
• radar
• tracking