Japan’s Defense Ministry said a Chinese reconnaissance plane briefly violated Japanese airspace on Monday morning and it scrambled to take off.
Huang Yuliang|Moment|Getty Images
A senior Japanese government spokesman said on Tuesday that the violation of Japanese airspace by Chinese military aircraft was “totally unacceptable.”
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Hayashi said at a regular press conference that the airspace intrusion “not only seriously violated Japan’s sovereignty, but also threatened our security.”
Lam said the government would continue to monitor China’s increasing military activities near Japan and would be fully prepared for any airspace violations, but declined to comment on the details of diplomatic talks between Tokyo and Beijing.
Japan said a Chinese Y-9 reconnaissance aircraft flew over the Danjo Islands west of the southern island of Kyushu for about two minutes on Monday morning, in what it said was the first time Chinese forces had violated its airspace.
Japan’s Defense Ministry said that in addition to military aircraft, a plane from China’s State Oceanic Administration and a drone from China’s Coast Guard violated Japanese airspace in 2012 and 2017 respectively.
China’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that relevant Chinese authorities were still trying to understand the situation.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular press conference that the two sides maintain communication through existing working channels.
“I also want to emphasize that China has no intention to violate the airspace of any country.”
