Hong Kong (CNN) -- China on Friday denied accusations by Japan that a Chinese navy vessel had put a radar-lock on a Japanese warship near a group of disputed islands at the heart of a bitter feud between the two Asian nations. The Chinese Ministry of National Defense said in a statement, its first official response to the claims, that Japanese officials had given out "false information" and "hyped up" the threat from China. Opinion: Is Asia sleepwalking into war? The Japanese allegations this week have put a fresh strain on relations between Tokyo and Beijing, which remain at loggerheads over who has sovereignty over the remote, rocky islands in the East China Sea.
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The Chinese defense ministry says Japanese accusations don't match the facts
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It denies a Chinese frigate put a radar-lock on a Japanese destroyer
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Japan expresses dissatisfaction over the Chinese statement
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The alleged incident occurred near a group of disputed islands
That type of radar could be used to produce data needed to fire upon the @placeholder vessel.