China's airspace intrusion a 'wake-up call' for Japan, says U.S. Republican lawmaker

By Tim Kelly

TOKYO (Reuters) - The intrusion of a Chinese spy plane into Japanese airspace is a "wake-up call" for Tokyo about the aggressive nature of China's leadership, U.S. lawmaker John Moolenaar, who chairs the House Select Committee on China said on Wednesday.

The incident on Monday involving a Y-9 reconnaissance aircraft flying near the southern Kyushu island was the first time a Chinese military aircraft had breached Japan's airspace, according to Tokyo, which told Beijing it was "utterly unacceptable."

The Chinese foreign ministry said on Tuesday it was still trying to understand the situation.

We've "seen a very different China in the last few years and the question is what's the best way to deter future aggression and malign activity," Moolenaar, who is a Republican member of the House of Representatives, said in an interview in Tokyo on Wednesday.

His visit to Japan, with half a dozen members of a bipartisan committee that has looked at topics ranging from China's exports of fentanyl precusor chemicals to Beijing's influence over U.S. businesses, comes as President Joe Biden's administration looks to expand restrictions on semiconductor manufacturing equipment exports.

While Japan has worked with its U.S. ally to restrict shipments of such technology, unlike Washington it has avoided trade curbs that directly target its neighbour and largest trading partner.

A new rule that will broaden U.S. powers to halt semiconductor manufacturing equipment exports to China from some foreign chipmakers will exclude Japan, the Netherlands and South Korea, two sources told Reuters last month.

In Japan, Moolenaar met trade and industry minister Ken Saito, who oversees Japan's technology exports and is meeting with the Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other senior Japanese officials.

"The question is what's the best way to deter future (Chinese) aggression and malign activity. We don't want to feed into a military complex that can be used against us," he said.

(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)