Japan lodged a diplomatic protest with Beijing on Wednesday after Chinese military jets flew near Japanese military aircraft over the East China Sea, an official said, according to Reuters.
Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said two Chinese SU27 fighters approached as close as 100 feet to Japanese aircraft on Wednesday morning, Reuters reported. He said the Chinese planes posed a danger to the Japanese aircraft and a serious incident could have occurred.
Onodera said the Japanese planes were on a regular surveillance mission in international airspace, and that Japan would continue to defend its territory, according Reuters.
The two countries have increased patrols by ships and military planes to press their conflicting territorial claims in the East China Sea, Reuters reported. They had a similar incident on May 24.
Tensions between the two Asian rivals worsened in recent years over a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea called Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, according to Reuters. Japan controls the islands but China also claims them.
Sino-Japanese ties have long been strained by allegations in China that Japan has not properly atoned for its wartime aggression and by the spat over the uninhabited islands, Reuters reported.
Japanese fighter jets were scrambled in response to foreign aircraft 810 times last year, more than half of them Chinese, according to a recent Defense Ministry report, Reuters reported.
In Washington, United States State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Wednesday all states should ensure they respect the safety of aircraft in flight, according to Reuters.
"Any attempt to interfere with freedom of overflight in international airspace raises regional tensions and increases the risk of miscalculation, confrontation and unintended incidents," Psaki told reporters, Reuters reported.
Tensions between China and its neighbours have also risen sharply in the South China Sea in recent weeks, following the deployment of a Chinese oil rig in waters also claimed by Vietnam, according to Reuters. The deployment sparked anti-Chinese riots in Vietnam.
