Japan scrambles jets as China warplane violates airspace

Japan's Defense Ministry confirmed that a Chinese military aircraft violated Japanese airspace for the first time ever on Monday. The Y-9 intelligence-gathering plane entered Japanese airspace over waters off the Danjo islands in Nagasaki Prefecture in the East China Sea between 11:29 a.m. (0209 GMT) and 11:31 a.m., prompting the Air Self-Defense Force to scramble fighter jets, the ministry said in a statement. The Japanese fighters did not use any weapons, according to the ministry. The Chinese warplane began to circle over waters southeast of the islands, southwestern Japan, at around 10:40 a.m. The aircraft circled the area again after breaching Japanese airspace, and eventually headed for China at about 1:15 p.m. (0415 GMT). Following the incident, Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano summoned acting Chinese ambassador Shi Yong and lodged a solemn protest over the incursion and strongly urged China to prevent a recurrence, according to the Foreign Ministry. Source: Kuwait News Agency