Japan has lodged a formal complaint with China after a Chinese reconnaissance plane breached its airspace on Monday, prompting the dispatch of fighter jets, Japanese officials confirmed. The incident took place near Danjo Island, located off the coast of Kyushu, Japan’s main southern island. The Japanese Self Defense Force reported that the Chinese Y-9 reconnaissance aircraft lingered above the island for a brief period before being intercepted by Japanese fighter jets. The Japanese Foreign Ministry released a statement indicating that Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano summoned the acting Chinese Ambassador to express strong objections to the airspace violation. Okano also urged China to take measures to prevent similar occurrences in the future.

The Japanese military disclosed that fighter jets were scrambled around 669 times between April 2023 and March 2024, with the majority of these instances involving Chinese military aircraft, excluding airspace infractions. Concerns within Japanese defense circles are mounting over the increasing level of military collaboration between the Chinese and Russian air forces, as well as China’s more assertive maneuvers in Japanese maritime territories and airspace. Consequently, Japan has bolstered its defenses in southwestern regions, particularly around remote islands deemed critical to the country’s defense strategy in the area.