Chinese state media has called for a Japanese telecoms firm to apologise to China over a huge wildfire in neighbouring Mongolia, as diplomatic tensions run high between Beijing and Tokyo.
The grassland fire broke out on October 8 and burned about 80 per cent of a nature reserve on the Mongolia-China border.
According to Japanese media reports, the company, KDDI, has acknowledged that the fire was linked to activities involving its majority-owned subsidiary MobiCom – the largest mobile network operator in Mongolia.
Mongolian media reported that a vehicle used by MobiCom executives had caught fire, igniting dry grass and causing the large-scale blaze, with the company potentially facing compensation claims.