“We have not confirmed the Chinese military’s movements related to” the crash of a GSDF UH-60JA multi-purpose helicopter on Thursday off Miyako Island, Japanese Defense Ministry spokesman Takeshi Aoki told a news conference.
A Japanese military helicopter flies off Miyako Island, Okinawa Prefecture, on April 9, searching for a helicopter that went missing last week. Photo: Kyodo
His comments came amid widespread online speculation that Chinese forces shot down the helicopter with a missile or drone or attacked the helicopter's radio waves, causing it to lose control.
All 10 people on board the helicopter have yet to be found. Search efforts for the helicopter have been hampered by coral reefs in the area where contact was lost.
At a parliamentary session last week, an opposition lawmaker asked Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada about the connection between the Chinese ships and the incident. Hamada said his ministry had not received any reports suggesting any connection.
Noting that the helicopter went missing at 3:56 p.m. local time last Thursday, Aoki said there was a “big difference” between the time of the incident and when the Chinese vessel was confirmed to be in the area.
Miyako Island is home to Japan's GSDF surface-to-ship missile unit. It is located near the East China Sea and near a group of disputed islands that Tokyo calls Senkaku and Beijing calls Diaoyu.
Mai Anh (according to Kyodo, SCMP)
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