The incident has reignited tensions between Beijing and Tokyo. Japan has deployed fighter jets after a Chinese military aircraft “violated” its airspace, the Defense Ministry said on Monday. It has been “confirmed that a Chinese aircraft violated territorial airspace off the Danjo Islands in Nagasaki Prefecture,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that it had launched “emergency fighter jets.” The “Y-9 spy plane” entered Japanese airspace at 11:29 a.m. (0229 GMT) for about two minutes, the ministry added. There was no comment from Chinese authorities.
According to local media, including public channel NHKThe incident marks the first incursion of a Chinese military aircraft into Japanese airspace. The ministry said measures were taken by the Japan Self-Defense Forces, such as “issuing warnings” to the aircraft, but NHK reported that no weapons, such as flare guns, were used as an alert.
“Firm protest”
Following the airspace violation, Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano summoned China’s acting ambassador to Japan on Monday night, to whom he “firmly protested,” while calling for measures to prevent a repeat of the incident, the foreign ministry said in a statement. The Chinese diplomat responded that the matter would be reported to Beijing, the ministry said.
Japanese and Chinese vessels have been involved in past incidents over disputed areas, particularly the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, also known as the Diaoyu Islands by Beijing. The island chain has fueled diplomatic tensions and has been the scene of clashes between Japanese coast guard vessels and Chinese fishing boats.
Beijing’s claim to the islands has grown more assertive in recent years, with Tokyo reporting the presence of Chinese coast guard vessels, a military ship and even a nuclear-powered submarine. In the past, two non-military Chinese aircraft — a propeller plane and a small drone — have been confirmed to have intruded into Japanese airspace near the Senkaku Islands in 2012 and 2017, according to NHK.
Increase in military spending
Beijing claims the South China Sea, through which billions of dollars of trade pass each year, almost all of it, despite a ruling by the International Court that its claim has no legal basis. The Danjo Islands are a group of islets in the East China Sea, off the southern Nagasaki region of Japan.
In recent years, Japan has strengthened its security ties with the United States to counter China’s growing clout in the region, boosting defense spending and moving toward acquiring “counterattack” capabilities. At the same time, it has also strengthened military ties with South Korea and the Philippines. Tensions between Beijing and Manila — another longtime U.S. ally — have escalated in recent months, with a series of clashes in the South China Sea.