Photo courtesy of Anadolu
Japanese fighter jets were dispatched for four consecutive days after military surveillance aircraft from China were detected operating near Japan’s southwestern islands, according to Tokyo’s defense authorities.
Japan’s Joint Staff said Chinese Y-9 aircraft were tracked between Thursday and Sunday over international waters in the East China Sea. The activity occurred near the Danjo Islands, west of Kyushu, as well as waters off Okinawa.
Despite the repeated deployments, Japanese authorities said the Chinese aircraft did not cross into Japan’s territorial airspace. The fighter response was therefore precautionary monitoring rather than a reaction to a confirmed airspace violation.
China had not immediately issued a response to Japan’s account of the encounters.
The aerial activity adds another point of friction between the neighboring Asian powers, whose relations have been strained by regional security concerns and longstanding territorial and historical disputes.
In a separate development Monday, Beijing again called on Tokyo to complete the disposal of chemical weapons left behind in China by Japanese forces during World War II.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Japan should fulfill its obligations concerning the remaining weapons following an inspection involving officials from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and diplomats representing 12 countries.
The delegation visited Hunchun, Dunhua and Harbaling in northeastern China’s Jilin province. Beijing said the trip highlighted the human and environmental consequences associated with the abandoned chemical weapons.