China, Japan exchange barbs over East China Sea

China and Japan continue to exchange verbal barbs over a territorial dispute in the East China Sea after US and Chinese navy ships nearly collided earlier this month, Financial Times reported. Japanese President Shinzo Abe demanded at an ASEAN meeting on Saturday that China rescind a recently announced air defense zone that requires aircraft to announce their flight plans to China. The zone include the disputed Diaoyu islands. China’s Foreign Ministry called the remarks “slander” on its website. On Friday, the US Navy said a cruiser in the disputed waters took evasive action on December 5 to avoid a collision with a Chinese military vessel.