Japan Scrambles Jets

In an escalation of tensions, Japan scrambled fighter jets on Thursday after a Chinese government plane entered airspace over disputed islets in the East China Sea.

Japan scrambles jets as Chinese plane flies over disputed isles

(Reuters) – Japan scrambled fighter jets on Thursday after a Chinese government plane entered for the first time what Japan considers its airspace over disputed islets in the East China Sea, escalating tension between Asia’s two biggest economies.

Japan protested to China over the incident but China brushed that off saying the flight by the Chinese aircraft was “completely normal”.

Sino-Japanese relations took a tumble in September after Japan bought the tiny islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, from a private Japanese owner.

Patrol ships from the two countries have been shadowing each other since then in a standoff that has raised concern that a collision could escalate into a clash. Thursday’s incident was the first time both sides used aircraft in the dispute.

“Despite our repeated warnings, Chinese government ships have entered our territorial waters for three days in an row,” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Osama Fujimura told reporters.

“It is extremely regrettable that, on top of that, an intrusion into our airspace has been committed in this way,” he said, adding that Japan had formally protested through diplomatic channels.

Japan’s military scrambled eight F-15 fighter jets, the Defense Ministry said. Japanese officials later said the Chinese aircraft had left the area.

It was the first time a Chinese aircraft had intruded into Japan’s airspace near the disputed islands, Japan Defense Ministry said.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda later instructed the government to be “all the more on guard”, the Kyodo news agency reported.

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Source: Reuters, written by Kiyoshi Takenaka

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