Japan protests after Chinese intrusion in the airspace of disputed islands – observer

The Japan government issued a “vigorous protest” against China, claiming to have detected a intrusion in airspace and territorial waters Japanese on Saturday, around islands disputed by the two countries.

The islands, known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan, are administered by Tokyo, but claimed by Beijing, which makes them a regular point of tension between the two governments.

Japanese Foreign Minister Takehiro Funakoshi issued a “vigorous protest” to the Chinese ambassador, according to a statement published Saturday night.

The protest was due “the intrusion of four Chinese coastal guard vessels in the Japanese territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands and the violation of Japanese airspace by a helicopter.”

According to the Japanese Ministry of Defense, the aircraft took off from one of the Chinese coast guard ships and flew in Japanese airspace for about 15 minutes on Saturday.

“The forces of self -defense [japonesas] They responded by sending fighters, ”said the ministry.

According to NHK public broadcaster and other Japanese media, this is the first time a Chinese helicopter violates the Japanese Airspace over the disputed islands.

Chinese Coast Guard spokesman Liu Dejun said a Japanese civil plane “entered illegally” on the islands played on Saturday and came out five minutes past.

A coastal ship “took the necessary control measures” against the aircraft and “launched a helicopter based on the ship to alert and expel it,” Liu said in a statement.

“The Diaoyu islands and their affiliated islands are a territory belonging to China and we ask Japan to immediately cease all illegal activities,” he added.

Beijing often announces that he has expelled Japanese ships and aircraft from the islands, but Japanese authorities told France-Ipress news agency that Chinese authorities sometimes announce expulsions even if none occurred.

In early April, the Chinese coast guard announced that she had repelled a Japanese fishing ship that was in waters by the Senkaku Islands.

In May 2024, China granted its coastal guard new capabilities, including the authority to stop foreign vessels suspected of illegally entering its territorial waters, in the midst of increasing territorial tensions with Japan and the Philippines.

The dispute for the Diaoyu or Senkaku islands, conquered by Japan after the war with China in 1894-95, intensified after Japan nationalized three of them in September 2012.

Located in the sea of ​​east China, about 150 kilometers northeast of Taiwan, which also claims sovereignty, the uninhabited Senkaku islands cover an area of ​​about seven square kilometers and adjacent waters may contain significant gas and oil deposits.