Spy plane from China violated Japanese airspace says Tokyo
A spy plane from China has been accused by the Japanese government of breaching its airspace. This would be the first known incident of such a violation.
The Japanese scrambled fighter jets after a Y-9 surveillance plane had “violated the territorial airspace” of Danjo Islands for around two minutes at 11:29 local time on Monday, 26th August. The Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan called the breach “utterly unacceptable,” summoning Chinese embassy officials in Tokyo in protest
This comes just as tensions are rising in the area. China is in competition for influence against American and its allies including Japan.
Authorities from Japan issued “notification warnings” to the Chinese spy plane during the incursion. No weapons, such as flare guns, were used however, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported. But the incident has still caused concern nonetheless.
Tokyo has said that it contacted Beijing through diplomatic channels to lodge a strong protest over the spy plane, demanding the prevention of similar breaches in the future.
Lin Jiang, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson said that they had “no intention of invading the airspace of any country” adding that the relevant departments were trying to understand the situation, Reuters reported.
The presence of Chinese ships in the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea have also been flagged by Tokyo. The islands are claimed by Beijing and referred to as the Diaoyus by the Chinese government. While they are uninhabited, they may contain oil and gas reserves and have been the source of tension between China and its neighbours.
Okinawa Island in the south of Japan is home to the largest American military installation in the Asia-Pacific region. American troops are also stationed in Taiwan, South Korea, and the Philippines.
“This latest incursion may seem alarming as China tends not to venture directly into Japanese airspace,” Professor Ian Chong, a Chinese foreign policy expert at the National University of Singapore, told the BBC. “Although it is consistent with China’s behaviour as regards Taiwan and the Philippines in recent years.”
Image: Alecsandr Martynov
