Japan protests Chinese warplane’s 1st intrusion

Japan lodged a protest with China Tuesday after a Chinese military aircraft violated Japanese airspace over the East China Sea for the first time ever on the previous day, calling it "utterly unacceptable." "The violation of Japan's airspace by Chinese military aircraft is not only a serious infringement of our country's sovereignty, but also a threat to our security. It is utterly unacceptable," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a press conference. "We have lodged an extremely solemn protest through diplomatic channels to the Chinese government and strongly urged China to prevent a recurrence," the top government spokesman said. On Monday, Japan's Defense Ministry confirmed the first-ever intrusion by a Chinese military aircraft into the Japanese airspace. The Y-9 intelligence-gathering plane entered Japanese airspace over waters off the Danjo islands in Nagasaki Prefecture, southwestern Japan, between 11:29 a.m. (0209 GMT) and 11:31 a.m., prompting the Air Self-Defense Force to scramble fig hter jets, the ministry said, adding that the Japanese fighters did not use any weapons. "In recent years, China's military activities around Japan have tended to become increasingly expanded and active," said Hayashi. "The government will continue to monitor China's military movements with great interest, and will take all possible measures to ensure vigilant surveillance and respond to airspace violations," he added. Source: Kuwait News Agency