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Japan claims a Chinese spy plane entered it's territorial airspace amid worsening relations between the two countries. Japan scrambled fighter jets after a Y-9 surveillance plane "violated the territorial airspace" of Danjo Islands for about two minutes at 11:29 local time Monday.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary called the breach "utterly unacceptable" and summoned a Chinese embassy official in Tokyo in protest.
“In recent years, China’s military activities in the vicinity of our country have tended to expand and become more and more active,” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a press conference Tuesday.
“The invasion of our country’s airspace by Chinese military aircraft is not only a serious violation of our country’s sovereignty, but also a threat to our safety, and is completely unacceptable,” Hayashi said.
The incident comes as tensions rise in the region, where China competes for influence against the US and its allies, including Japan. Japanese authorities issued "notifications and warnings" to the Chinese aircraft during Monday's incursion, but no weapons such as flare guns were used, according to Japanese broadcaster NHK.
Nonetheless, the incident has stoked concern.
The Japanese government said it had contacted Beijing through diplomatic channels to lodge a strong protest over the incursion and demand the prevention of such breaches in the future.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said they had "no intention of invading the airspace of any country" and that relevant departments were still trying to understand the situation, reported Reuters.
Tokyo also recently flagged the presence of Chinese ships in the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, which are claimed by China and which Beijing calls the Diaoyus. The islands, which are uninhabited but potentially possess oil and gas reserves, are one of several sources of tension between Beijing and its neighbours - most of whom are American allies.
Another is Japan's Okinawa island, which is home to the largest US military installation in the Asia-Pacific region. There are also American troops stationed in Taiwan, the Philippines and South Korea.
