Japan decries Chinese military plane’s ‘totally unacceptable’ airspace incursion

Monday’s ‘first confirmed’ airspace incursion by China drew a furious response from Tokyo, which called the move a grave security threat

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The Chinese military Y-9 intelligence-gathering aircraft that Tokyo said violated Japanese airspace on Monday. Photo: Japan’s Ministry of Defence/ Handout via AFP

Published: 12:18pm, 27 Aug 2024Updated: 5:22pm, 27 Aug 2024

Japan on Tuesday slammed what it called the first confirmed incursion by a Chinese military aircraft into its airspace as a “serious violation” of its sovereignty, saying Beijing was becoming “increasingly active”.

China’s growing economic and military clout in the Asia-Pacific region and its assertiveness in territorial disputes – most recently with the Philippines – has rattled the United States and its allies, and Monday’s incident represents a further heightening of tensions.

Japan, Washington’s closest ally in the region, said it scrambled fighter jets after the two-minute incursion from 11:29am on Monday by the Y-9 surveillance aircraft off the Danjo Islands in the East China Sea.

China said on Tuesday it was “verifying” Japan’s claims, with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan due in Beijing later on in the day for talks with top diplomat Wang Yi that will include the South China Sea.

A Japanese soldier looks through binoculars during a live-fire exercise. Japan has ramped up defence spending in recent years, with US encouragement. Photo: Bloomberg

Analysts said China was possibly probing Japan’s air defence network, seeking to obtain intelligence and putting pressure on Tokyo as it expands defence cooperation with the US and other countries in the region alarmed by Beijing’s behaviour.