China begins air patrol of disputed islands
Flexing
its muscles, China for the first time sent a marine surveillance plane
to join its warships to monitor the disputed islands with Japan, forcing
Tokyo to scramble eight F-15 fighter jets.
The
jets were mobilised after a Chinese maritime aircraft ventured over the
Senkaku islands, which China calls the Diaoyus, just after 11 am (0200
GMT), Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told reporters in Tokyo.It
was a fixed-wing Y-12 aeroplane belonging to the Chinese State Oceanic
Administration. We confirmed that this aeroplane flew in our country's
airspace," he said.
China's
move to send the plane came after it regularised patrols by its
maritime and naval vessels, challenging Tokyo's hold over the unmanned
islets.
The
plane, B-3837 conducted joint patrols with a fleet of four surveillance
ships, state-run Xinhua news agency quoted a statement by the State
Oceanic Administration.
The
fleet declared the Chinese government's stance and ordered the Japanese
ships that had entered China's territorial waters to leave the area
immediately, the statement said.
Japan
mobilised eight F-15 jets and an E2C early-warning aircraft, the Asahi
Shimbun reported, citing a defence ministry source. But the incident
appeared to have passed off without any direct confrontation.
This
is the first time China has deployed maritime planes after it began
sending the patrol ships since September questioning Japan's move to buy
the islands.
Before
that China has not seriously challenged Japan's administrative hold on
the islands, though it all along claimed sovereignty over them.
China termed Japan's move provocative and said it would continue to make its presence felt around the islands.
Analysts say the two countries could make an attempt to break the impasse after the current elections in Japan.
In Beijing, China's foreign ministry said the flight had been routine.
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