December 14, 2012

The Japan Coast Guard on December 13 found China’s aircraft entering Japanese airspace over the disputed Senkaku Islands.

A Japanese patrol boat instructed the aircraft not to enter the airspace. The Air Self-Defense Force then scrambled fighters to the area.

It is China’s first intrusion into Japanese airspace, according to the Defense Ministry. The Japanese government filed an immediate protest with China through diplomatic channels.

The Japanese Communist Party has called for the need to solve the territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands through diplomatic negotiations in a calm manner. It has stressed that both governments should refrain from taking a dangerous path that could harm efforts to diplomatically resolve the issue, and made representations to the Chinese government to this effect.