China rebukes Japan after both sides' planes fly near islands

BEIJING (REUTERS) - China criticised Japan on Friday for "creating tension", a day after China's air force scrambled two fighters in response to a flight by Japanese jets, the latest incident between the countries following months of tension over disputed islands.

China scrambled two J-10 fighters on Thursday over the East China Sea after two Japanese F-15s followed a Chinese military plane "on routine patrol", the Chinese Defence Ministry said in a statement on its website.

The Chinese Y-8 was flying over East China Sea oil and gas fields east of Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, when it was followed at close range by the Japanese planes, the ministry said.

A third Japanese surveillance plane was flying nearby, it said.