Chinese Military Plane Breaches Japanese Airspace

An aerial view of the remote islands in the Sea of Japan (East Sea). Dong-A Ilbo/AFP/GettyImages

Japanese officials said a Chinese military plane violated Japanese airspace on the morning of Aug. 26.

Japanese fighter planes scrambled to warn off the Chinese Y-9 reconnaissance plane, which had flown near the Danjo Islands off Nagasaki Prefecture. The Japanese Defense Ministry stated that no weapons or flares were used, according to local outlet NHK. The Japan Times reported that the plane continued to circle near the islands for some time after it left Japanese airspace.

The Chinese regime regularly flies aircraft in international airspace over the East China Sea, but the Japanese Ministry of Defense confirmed that the latest incident is the first time a Chinese military aircraft has breached Japanese airspace. The China Coast Guard has previously made incursions into disputed waters.

Tokyo has lodged a diplomatic protest. The Japanese Foreign Ministry stated that Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano also summoned a senior official at the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo on the evening of Aug. 26 over the incident to “strongly request” the prevention of any such future cases.

This came shortly after a bipartisan group of Japanese lawmakers visited Taiwan to discuss security issues, prompting Beijing to issue a statement warning that Japan should be ready to “pay a heavy price” if it interferes with the regime’s plans for Taiwan.

The Japanese lawmakers met with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te on Aug. 14 and Taiwanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung on Aug. 15.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been vocal about its intention of “seizing” Taiwan by force if it believes that is necessary. Should the CCP claim the small island nation, this would give the regime a strategic advantage over Japan. The strait between China and Taiwan is also a key international trade route; about 44 percent of the world’s shipping containers pass through it.

Shigeru Ishiba, former Japanese defense minister and a prospective prime ministerial candidate, joined the legislators at the gathering and said Japan and Taiwan should collaborate with the broader democratic community to avoid becoming “the Ukraine of tomorrow.”

The CCP has recently ramped up aggression toward its neighbors. This includes attempting to provoke the Philippine Air Force and Coast Guard in close encounters before escalating into collisions, according to Philippine authorities, and conducting regular military drills and firing missiles near Taiwan.

The global community has condemned the CCP’s violations of international laws and regulations governing the seas. Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and the UK have also criticized the CCP’s “dangerous” actions that led to the collisions with Philippine vessels on Aug. 25. 

The Japanese ambassador to the Philippines stated on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that the CCP’s actions were “unacceptable,” saying, “Any harassment & actions which increase tensions or obstruct freedom of navigation are not tolerated.”

The CCP has declared nearly all of the South China Sea as its own, a claim that the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague rejected in a 2016 ruling.

The U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea designates the 200 nautical miles off a nation’s coast as its exclusive economic zone. Vessels and countries are subject to maritime law outside of these zones.

Beijing passed a law last year that claims that the regime’s coast guard has the authority to detain those it views as trespassers in its territorial claims.

Reuters contributed to this report.