Japan scrambles jets after China plane flies by southern islands

[visom]

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan scrambled fighter jets on Wednesday after a Chinese military aircraft flew for the first time through international airspace near its southern islands out over the Pacific, in a move seen by Japan as underlining China's maritime expansion.

Ties between China and Japan have been strained by a territorial dispute over uninhabited East China Sea islets and hawkish Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe won a decisive victory in upper house elections on Sunday.

Japan's Defense Ministry said a Chinese Y-8 airborne early warning plane flew through airspace between Okinawa prefecture's main island and the smaller Miyako island in southern Japan out over the Pacific at around noon and later took the same route back over the East China Sea.

"I believe this indicates China's move toward further maritime expansion," Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters, in comments carried on public broadcaster NHK.

Chinese government spokesmen were not immediately available for comment.

The waters around the disputed islands, called the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, and which are to the west of Okinawa's main island, are rich fishing grounds and the sea floor around them could hold big oil and gas reserves.

Tension between China and Japan escalated last September when Japan bought three of the disputed islands from a private Japanese owner.

Since then, patrol ships and aircraft from both countries have been shadowing each other in the sea and skies around the islets.

That has raised fears of an unintended collision leading to a broader clash.

Abe has pledged to take a firm stance in the territorial dispute, but said in his news conference following the upper house election win that Japan's door was open to dialogue.

 

[Zero_wing]

shut it down the imperials are just asking for b slap

 

[longyi]

Japan's Defense Ministry said a Chinese Y-8 airborne early warning plane flew through airspace between Okinawa prefecture's main island and the smaller Miyako island in southern Japan out over the Pacific at around noon and later took the same route back over the East China Sea.

"I believe this indicates China's move toward further maritime expansion," Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters, in comments carried on public broadcaster NHK.

LOL flying over international water is considered maritime expansion? Insecure much?

 

[Akasa]

Funny. A Chinese unarmed Y-8J aircraft flies in international waters and Japan starts to scream "expansionism". The US does this around China and Russia all the time and yet this is met with a silence from them. However, introspectively, Japan fully justifies its own nationalization of China's Diaoyu islands in the wake of an unequal treaty that was rejected by the Chinese.

China needs to continue with the missions.

 

[walle990]

This only shows the Japs are paranoid and the Pinoys mentally handicapped.

 

[BeyondHeretic]

I can't wait for a war there

 

[Dr. Strangelove]

I can't wait for a war there

no one wants war only nuts like u think like that

 

[Zero_wing]

does who not fought finds war sweet