Japan lodged a protest with China on Thursday after a Chinese fighter jet flew "abnormally" close to Japanese surveillance planes in the both countries' air defense identification zones overlap on the previous day, the Foreign Ministry said.
Vice Foreign Minister Akitaka Saiki summoned Chinese Ambassador to Japan Cheng Yonghua over Wednesday's incident in the airspace above disputed areas of the East China Sea, the ministry said in a statement Saiki made a strong protest regarding the incident, pointing out that the similar incident just occurred on May 24, according to the ministry.
A Chinese SU-27 fighter approached within roughly 30 meters to the Self-Defense Forces' (SDF) YS-11 intelligence aircraft, and it came again as close as 45 meters to a OP-3C surveillance plane, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday, adding that the SDF airplanes were conducting normal patrolling missions over international waters of the East China Sea.
The incident occurred in less than three weeks that Japan said two Chinese fighter jets approached to SDF surveillance planes in the both countries' airspace above disputed areas. "The reoccurrence of a similar incident is deeply deplorable. We lodged a strong protest and strongly demanded the prevention of reoccurrences, so that extremely dangerous activities that could lead to an unexpected accident in the sea or airspace in the vicinity of Japan should not repeated," Saiki told Cheng.
The vice-minister also said it is important that the defense authorities of Japan and China discuss the safety and security at sea and in airspace in order to avoid and prevent unexpected incidents between the two countries.
"Both sides should initiate operation of the maritime communication mechanism between Japan and China defense authorities as early as possible," Saiki added.
In response, Cheng explained China's position, including that it cannot accept Japan's demarche. "China also considers it important that the two countries communicate with each other in order to prevent unexpected incidents," said Cheng, adding that the protest will be sent to Beijing.
Relations between the world's second and third-largest economies have sharply deteriorated since Tokyo's nationalization of part of the Senkaku Islands, a group of uninhabited islets in the East China Sea administered by Japan but claimed by China, through purchase from a private Japanese owner in 2012. The rocky islands, known as Diaoyu in China, lie in rich fishing grounds and waters thought to contain large deposits of oil and natural gas. Last November, China unilaterally set up the defense zone over a large area of the East China Sea, obligating all aircraft passing the area to notify Chinese authorities of their flight plans and identify themselves. The air defense zone overlaps airspace over the disputed islands