China protests to Japan about Tokyo embassy break-in

BEIJING, Mar 24: China has lodged a protest and made representations with the Japanese government after what it described as a "forceful break-in" at its embassy in Tokyo, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Tuesday.
An individual who claimed to be an active-duty officer of Japan's military, the Self-Defense Forces, scaled the wall and forcibly entered the Chinese Embassy on Tuesday morning, ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a regular press conference.
"The individual admitted that the actions were illegal and ?threatened to kill Chinese diplomatic personnel in the so-called name of God," Lin said.
China is deeply shocked by the incident, Lin said, urging Tokyo to conduct a thorough investigation, punish those responsible and provide an explanation.
"The Japanese side must effectively guarantee the safety of the premises and personnel of Chinese embassies and consulates in Japan, reflect on and correct its policies towards China, and fundamentally prevent such incidents from occurring again," he said.
Japan's Ministry of Defence said in an emailed message it ?was aware of media reports on the incident but it declined to comment further.
Ties between the Asian neighbours have deteriorated since Japanese Prime Minister SanaeTakaichi suggested last November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan, the democratically governed island China claims its ?own, could trigger a military response from Tokyo.    �"REUTERS