Japan and China exchange accusations of violating the airspace near a disputed islands

Japan and China have exchanged diplomatic protests, accusing each other of violating its air field after entering a Chinese helicopter and coast guard ships in a confrontation with a Japanese plane near a disputed islands between the two countries.

The islands in the East China Sea, known as Diauo in China and Senkaku in Japan, runs on Tokyo, but Beijing demands sovereignty over it, and it constitutes a focus of tension in bilateral relations.

Official protests

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday, that it had made an official protest at the highest diplomat at the Japanese embassy after a civilian plane stormed the airspace of the Diauo Islands, and this was an illegal violation.

On Saturday evening, the Japanese Foreign Ministry announced in a statement that the deputy minister had brought to the Chinese ambassador to a strongly worded protest over the storming of 4 Chinese coast guard ships Japanese territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands “on the same day.

The Deputy Minister also protested “violating the regional airspace of Japan by a helicopter that was launched from a Chinese Coast Guard ships,” and China urged “to ensure that similar works are not repeated.”

Fighter aircraft

The Japanese Ministry of Defense reported that the helicopter flew in the Japanese airspace for approximately 15 minutes, near the Senkaku Islands, adding that it had responded by placing “fighter planes in alert.”

The Japanese Broadcasting and Television Corporation, “NHK” and other local media, said that this is the first time that a Chinese government helicopter has violated the Japanese airspace over the disputed islands.

On the same day, the Chinese Coast Guard announced that it had used a helicopter to expel a Japanese plane that violated the airspace surrounding the disputed islands.

A spokesman for the Chinese Coast Guard said that a Japanese civilian plane “illegally entered” the airspace of the islands at 11,19 am (02,19 GMT) and left after 5 minutes.

Japanese ships and aircraft

Beijing is constantly declaring the expulsion of Japanese ships and aircraft from the vicinity of the islands, but Japanese officials told AFP that the Chinese authorities sometimes announce expulsions without their occurrence.

Japanese officials, whose identity, told local media that Beijing may have responded to the flight of a small Japanese civilian plane near the islands.

In light of the tensions between China and other countries calling for sovereignty over parts of the East and South China maritime, Japan has strengthened its relations with the Philippines and the United States.