A Chinese Y-9 intelligence plane entered Japanese airspace over waters off the Danjo Islands in Nagasaki Prefecture for about two minutes at 11:29 a.m. local time, prompting the Japan Air Self-Defense Force to scramble fighter jets, the ministry said Monday.
The incident led to a diplomatic protest, with Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano summoning Chinese Charge d'Affaires Shi Yong to lodge an "extremely serious protest" over the airspace intrusion, seeking to ensure a similar flight will never happen again, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
A senior Defense Ministry official stated that an analysis is needed to determine whether the incursion was intentional, adding that Japan should not "overreact" as the airspace violation was unlikely intended to escalate the situation.
While this marks the first confirmed airspace violation by China's military, Japan has previously reported similar incidents involving Chinese marine surveillance aircraft and drones near the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, which China also claims.
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