Japan scrambles jets against China plane that breached airspace
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The Japanese Foreign Ministry said Vice-Foreign Minister Masataka Okano summoned a senior official at the Chinese embassy in Tokyo to lodge a protest against the incursion.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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TOKYO – Japan’s defence ministry said it scrambled jets against a Chinese reconnaissance aircraft that briefly breached its airspace on Aug 26.
The aircraft was identified as a Y-9 reconnaissance plane that flew over the Danjo Islands to the west of the southern island of Kyushu between around 11.29am (10.29am in Singapore) and 11.31am.
The ministry said it was the first time a Chinese military aircraft breached Japan’s airspace, and that the government has lodged a strong protest against Beijing through diplomatic channels.
Separately, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said Vice-Foreign Minister Masataka Okano summoned a senior official at the Chinese embassy in Tokyo to lodge a protest against the incursion and to strongly demand the prevention of such breaches.
The Chinese diplomat replied that the matter would be reported to Beijing, according to the ministry.
Japanese and Chinese vessels have previously been involved in tense incidents in disputed areas
The remote chain of islands have fuelled diplomatic tensions and been the scene of confrontations between Japanese coast guard vessels and Chinese fishing boats.
Beijing has grown more assertive about its claim to the islands in recent years, with Tokyo reporting the presence of Chinese coast guard vessels, a naval ship and even a nuclear-powered submarine.
In the past, two non-military aircraft from China – a propeller plane and a small drone – were confirmed to have forayed into Japanese airspace near the Senkaku islands in 2012 and 2017, according to NHK.
Beijing claims the South China Sea – through which trillions of dollars of trade passes annually – almost in its entirety despite an international court ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.
The Danjo Islands are a group of small islets in the East China Sea off Japan’s southern Nagasaki region.
Japan in recent years has strengthened security ties with the United States to counter China’s growing assertiveness in the region, boosting defence spending and moving to acquire “counter-strike” capabilities.
At the same time it has boosted military ties with the Philippines, which has also been involved in recent territorial stand-offs, as well as South Korea. REUTERS, AFP
