China notes Japan's reconnaissance aircraft plan

China has taken note of media reports on Japan's plan to introduce unmanned reconnaissance aircraft, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Tuesday.

Hong Lei made the remarks at a daily news briefing in response to a question on Japanese media claims that Japan is considering deploying Global Hawk unmanned high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft, possibly within the fiscal year 2015, to beef up its air surveillance capabilities to deal with territorial issues.

According to the reports, the Japanese defense ministry also plans to build new monitoring facilities on Iwo Jima, an island 1,200 km south of mainland Tokyo, to collect information about Chinese vessels' activities in the Pacific.

Hong said China's normal marine activities are in line with international law and do not threaten any other country.

The spokesman said "some countries" try to deliberately make excuses for a push to expand their military role.

"We hope that the Japanese side will learn from history and play a constructive role in maintaining peace and stability in the region," he added.