Japan scrambled fighter jets after confirming a Chinese military surveillance aircraft violated its territorial airspace off Nagasaki prefecture’s Danjo Islands in the East China Sea in late August 2024, Japan’s Defense Ministry said.
The People’s Liberation Army Y-9 intelligence-gathering aircraft remained in Japanese airspace for about two minutes, officials said. It was the first incursion by a Chinese military aircraft into Japan’s airspace, according to media reports.
The Defense Ministry said the Japan Self-Defense Forces issued warnings to the aircraft.
Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano lodged a protest with the PRC’s acting ambassador to Japan and called for measures against a recurrence.
Japanese and Chinese vessels have been involved in tense incidents in disputed areas, particularly around the Japan-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
Beijing has grown more assertive about its claim to the remote uninhabited islands, with Tokyo reporting the presence of Chinese coast guard vessels, a naval ship and a nuclear-powered submarine.
Two nonmilitary Chinese aircraft — a propeller plane and a small drone — entered Japanese airspace near the Senkakus in 2012 and 2017, according to Japanese broadcaster NHK.
Japan in recent years has strengthened security ties with partners, including its longtime ally the United States, to counter the PRC’s growing regional assertiveness, while also boosting defense spending and moving to acquire “counterstrike” capabilities.
It also has boosted defense ties with South Korea and with the Philippines, which has faced territorial incursions by the PRC in the South China Sea.
