Tokyo has denied Seoul’s announcement on Wednesday that one of its military aircraft has made a threatening low-altitude flight against a South Korean warship.

Japan’s public broadcaster NHK quoted an official of Japan’s Defense Ministry as saying that no such flight has been made, adding its plane was engaged in routine surveillance activities. 

Another official of the ministry also refuted Seoul’s claim, saying Japan has been more discreet than usual since the countries began a dispute over an incident last month involving a South Korean warship and a Japanese surveillance aircraft. 

The official told NHK that Seoul is distorting facts to blame Tokyo and expressed regret over South Korea’s allegations. 

According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, a P-3 patrol aircraft from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force flew in front of the South Korean destroyer, Daejoyeong, near Ieodo, a submerged reef south of Jeju Island, at around 2:03 p.m. on Wednesday.