China's Ministry of National Defense on Thursday criticized Japan's accusation that a Chinese military aircraft had "approached unusually close" to two Japanese warplanes, saying it's "a thief who cries thief."

Geng Yansheng, spokesman for the ministry, said in a statement that Japan's YS11EB and OP3C aircraft tailed China's Tu-154 plane, coming as near as 30 meters from the Chinese plane as it was conducting a routine patrol over the East China Sea at around 10 a.m. Wednesday.

The Japanese fighters' actions seriously threatened the safety of China's plane, Geng added.