Tokyo's defence minister said Friday it was "unacceptable" for China to blame Japan for close encounters between their military planes over the Pacific high seas last weekend. Nakatani said Friday that "Chinese statements portraying Japan as the cause of the latest incident are unacceptable".

China has deployed both of its aircraft carriers—CNS Liaoning and CNS Shandong —to the east of the first island chain since June 7. Japan's military reported that its patrol aircraft was intercepted by fighter jets launched from the Shandong while conducting surveillance.

The maneuvers over international waters in the Pacific last weekend prompted Japanese officials to warn China not to repeat them and risk a collision.