The government will not disclose its evidence of China's recent locking of weapons-targeting radar on a Japanese warship because doing so would tip its hand on intelligence operations, official sources said Monday.
The Liberal Democratic Party-led government had considered disclosure after Beijing denied Japan's accusations that a Chinese frigate aimed its weapons radar at a Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer on Jan. 30 near the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea at the heart of a bilateral dispute.
Disclosure poses "great risk in terms of defense as it would mean that Chinese military authorities would be looking at the MSDF's secrets concerning information-gathering operations," a senior Defense Ministry official said.