Tokyo summoned ambassador and lodged protest after surveillance plane was detected on Monday morning.
Japan has said the violation of its airspace by a Chinese military spy plane was “utterly unacceptable”, a day after the country scrambled jets and summoned a Chinese embassy official in Tokyo in protest.
Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said the airspace breach – the first by a military aircraft – was “not only a serious violation of Japan’s sovereignty but it also threatens our security”.
Japan’s military said on Monday that a Chinese Y-9 reconnaissance plane had been detected at 11.29am (02:29 GMT) circling above the Danjo Islands off the southwestern coast of Japan’s main southern island of Kyushu for two minutes, and fighter jets had been scrambled to warn the Chinese plane to leave the airspace.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs later said that it had summoned acting Chinese Ambassador Shi Yong to lodge a strong protest over the airspace violation, and demand China take preventive steps to avoid such incidents.
