Japan protests to France over military sales to China

TOKYO (AFP) - Japan said on Monday it had protested to Paris over a French firm's sale of helicopter landing equipment to China, at a time of heightened territorial tensions between Tokyo and Beijing.

France-based naval defence firm DCNS has sold at least 11 sets of the equipment, which help helicopters land on ships in bad weather, officials said, sparking complaints in February.

"We have expressed our concerns," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference on Monday, while a foreign ministry official added the protest was made through the embassy in Paris after DCNS announced the sales.

An earlier report by the Asahi Shimbun said the protest came after Japan spotted a sales contract between DCNS and China for two of the marine patrol vessels Beijing frequently sends into waters around the contested islands.