In a new escalation of territorial disputes, Japan and China are at odds over allegations of airspace violations involving the East China Sea islands, a region of strategic importance. Both countries assert control over the islands, which are under Japanese administration but claimed by China.
The conflict has surfaced amid efforts by both nations to warm their relationship, especially in light of the economic tensions stemming from the ongoing trade disputes with the United States. Japan’s Foreign Ministry reported that it had lodged a “very severe protest” against China following an incident in which a Chinese helicopter reportedly launched from one of China’s coast guard vessels and entered Japanese territorial waters near the disputed Senkaku islands. The helicopter allegedly violated Japanese airspace for approximately 15 minutes. The ministry’s statement referred to the event as a breach of Japan’s territorial airspace and called for China to implement preventive measures moving forward.
In response to the breach, Japan’s Self-Defense Force deployed fighter jets as a countermeasure. Meanwhile, China has lodged its own protest, claiming that a Japanese civilian aircraft intruded upon its airspace near the same islands. China expressed “strong dissatisfaction” toward what it described as a “severe violation of China’s sovereignty.” The Chinese embassy’s statement detailed that the China Coast Guard took “necessary control measures” and used a helicopter to intercept the Japanese aircraft.
Japanese authorities are currently examining whether there is any link between the trajectory of the Chinese coast guard helicopter and the coincidental presence of the Japanese civilian aircraft in the area during the same timeframe. The recurring presence of Chinese coast guard vessels in the surrounding waters and airspace, known in China as the Diaoyu islands, continues to be a cause for Japanese jets to frequently mobilize in response to perceived threats.
This latest incident marks the first of its kind since August when a Chinese reconnaissance plane entered Japanese airspace off Nagasaki’s coast. Historically, Chinese aircraft have breached airspace around the Senkaku islands on at least two other occasions, underscoring the persistent friction in the region.