Chinese airplane enters Japanese airspace over Senkakus for 1st time

A Chinese government airplane entered Japanese airspace over the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea on Thursday in the first such airspace intrusion in Japan, prompting an immediate protest from the Japanese government.

The Air Self-Defense Force scrambled F-15 fighter jets to the area after one of China’s State Oceanic Administration airplanes was spotted at 11:06 a.m. about 15 kilometers south of Uotsuri Island, one of the Japanese-administered Senkakus claimed by China, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told reporters.

It is the first-ever intrusion by China into Japanese airspace since Tokyo started tallying the number of such intrusions in 1958, according to the Defense Ministry.

Chinese Warships Approach, Then Pull From Japan Waters

Japan’s Defense Ministry said that several Chinese ships were spotted in the area near Japanese territorial waters, moving toward the disputed Senkaku Islands, before they pulled away hours later. The two nations have been at an impasse over who owns the rocky islands in the East China Sea and tensions remain high.