China violates Japanese airspace for first time

Japan's Defence Ministry has stated that a Chinese military aircraft was confirmed to have violated Japanese territorial airspace for the first time.

The incident has prompted a strong protest from Tokyo, Caliber.Az reports, citing Japanese media.

According to the Defense Ministry, a Y-9 intelligence-gathering plane belonging to the Chinese military briefly entered Japanese airspace near the Danjo Islands, located off Nagasaki Prefecture, between 11:29 a.m. and 11:31 a.m. In response, Japan's Air Self-Defense Force scrambled fighter jets to intercept the aircraft.

Later in the day, at around 5:20 p.m., Masataka Okano, Japan's Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, summoned the charge d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy to the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo.

He issued a formal protest and "strongly requested" that China take steps to prevent any future violations, according to a statement from the ministry.

The Chinese representative responded by stating that the incident would be reported back to Beijing.