Chinese Spy Plane Violates Japanese Airspace: Tokyo

A Chinese military intelligence-gathering aircraft violated Japanese airspace off a group of its western islands on Monday, Japan's Ministry of Defense said, marking the first such alleged intrusion on record.

Japan's Air Self-Defense Force scrambled fighter aircraft to intercept a Y-9 reconnaissance plane in the East China Sea after it breached its airspace off the Danjo Islands for about two minutes, according to the ministry's release.

The Danjo islets are uninhabited and administered by the city of Goto, part of Japan 's Nagasaki prefecture. The Chinese spy plane was inside Japanese airspace from around 11:29 a.m. to 11:31 a.m. local time, but did not depart the area until its patrol concluded more than an hour later, Tokyo said.

The Y-9, operated by China's air force, is equipped to collect electronic signals from foreign military hardware. It is frequently detected near Japan's vast archipelagic territory.

The incident happened during what appeared to be an hourslong reconnaissance mission off Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu, according to the Japanese government's geospatial data used to create Newsweek 's map.

Japanese broadcaster NHK said the Chinese plane was radioed not to approach the country's airspace while flying toward Kyushu, but it did not deviate from its heading . It had already exited the territorial airspace around the Danjo Islands by the time Japanese air force jets arrived.

Japan's defense ministry said it was still assessing the aircraft's intensions , but described the breach as "extremely regrettable."

Shi Yong, China's charge d'affaires in Tokyo, was summoned for a formal protest.

China 's foreign and defense ministries didn't immediately return separate requests seeking comment.

The Japanese air force regularly scrambles to identify Chinese and Russian military aircraft operating in its air defense identification zone.

An ADIZ is a self-declared buffer zone that is not considered sovereign airspace, which typically ends 12 nautical miles miles from the shore.

Japanese F-2 and F-15 fighter jets were launched from the Tsuiki and Nyutabaru air bases , both located on Kyushu, according to Japan's Sankei Shimbun newspaper.

NHK said no weapons or flares were used during the intercept.

Chinese military aircraft had never violated Japanese airspace before Monday's incident, but at least two Chinese non-military government aircraft have done so in the past.

The incident comes just over a month after Japan launched an investigation into a warship captain who ordered his destroyer to sail into China's territorial waters last month.

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's 6,800-ton destroyer the Suzutsuki was sent to observe Chinese military exercises north of Taiwan in early July.

Update, 08/26/24, 6:55 a.m. ET: This breaking news story was updated with additional information.

Update, 08/26/24, 8:28 a.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information.