( CNN ) -- China 's ambassador to Japan is rejecting Tokyo 's protest over the patrol of Chinese navy ships near a group of islands disputed by Japan , China and Taiwan . Japan accused the Chinese navy of using radar to gather information on the location of a Japanese escort vessel and a helicopter . The type of radar used could be used to produce data needed to fire upon the Japanese equipment . Dispute explained : How a remote rock split China and Japan . The Japanese foreign ministry summoned the Chinese ambassador for a meeting Tuesday to lodge a formal protest regarding the accusations . The Chinese actions were unusual and one false step could lead to a dangerous situation , Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onoder said Tuesday . Japan repels Taiwan activists near disputed islands . China countered that it has been conducting regular patrols in Chinese waters and asked Japan not to interfere . `` We think the top priority for now is for Japan to stop all provocative actions it has been doing as sending ships and flights into Diaoyu islands sea and air space , '' Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hua Chunying said , referring to the disputed islands . `` We hope Japan can take actions to show sincerity and willingness to work with China through talks and negotiations to control and manage the current situation . '' The Japanese call the uninhabited islands the Senkakus . Near them are important shipping lanes , rich fishing grounds and possible oil deposits . Asia 's disputed islands -- who claims what ? Disagreement over who owns them strained relations between Japan and China during the latter half of 2012 , and the dispute shows no signs of waning . In another show of force , China 's navy conducted drills in the South China Sea over the weekend , the state-run Xinhua news agency reported . The drill included a scenario in which a helicopter crew identified a target and prepared to fire a missile , and another in which crews responded to a fire on a ship . Protests flared across China in September , soon after Japan announced it had bought several of the disputed islands from private Japanese owners . The deal was struck in part to prevent the islands from being bought by Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara , who had called for donations for a public fund to buy them . Dangerous Rocks : Can both sides back off peacefully ? China was outraged , as were protesters who marched through several Chinese cities calling for boycotts of Japanese products and urging the government to give the islands back . In December , the dispute escalated when Japan scrambled fighter jets after a Chinese plane was seen near the islands . A number of Chinese ships have also entered contested waters despite warnings from the Japanese Coast Guard . China says its claim extends back hundreds of years . Japan says it saw no trace of Chinese control of the islands in an 1885 survey , so formally recognized them as Japanese sovereign territory in 1895 . Japan then sold the islands in 1932 to descendants of the original settlers . The Japanese surrender at the end of World War II in 1945 only served to cloud the issue further . The islands were administered by the U.S. occupation force after the war . But in 1972 , Washington returned them to Japan as part of its withdrawal from Okinawa . Taiwan , which Beijing regards as a breakaway province , also lays claim to the islands . But the self-governing island has seldom rigorously advanced its claims because of an unwillingness to risk its good relationship with Japan , said Alan Dupont , a strategic analyst at the University of New South Wales in Sydney . He said last year that Taiwan 's decision to become more assertive was a response to actions taken by China and Japan in the second half of 2012 , as well as concerns over access to fishing and marine resources .
China rejects complaints about its Xinhua news agency patrols by Japan . China had accused China of using radar to track a Chinese ship and helicopter . Japan , China and Japan are disputing a group of islands . Japan says it is patrolling its waters near the islands .