Japan airspace intrusion a first by China: Tokyo

TOKYO - Agence France-Presse

REUTERS Photo

A Chinese state-owned aircraft that flew over islands at the centre of a dispute between Tokyo and Beijing was the first ever intrusion into Japanese airspace by China, Japan's defence ministry said Thursday.
 
A ministry spokesman confirmed media reports that the fixed wing plane from the Chinese Maritime Surveillance was the first that Japan's military had ever recorded as intruding into its airspace.

China flight over disputed islands 'normal': Beijing

China said a flight by its maritime surveillance aircraft over islands disputed with Japan was "completely normal", after Tokyo scrambled fighter jets to respond to the situation.
 
"China's maritime surveillance plane flying over the Diaoyu islands is completely normal," said foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei, using Beijing's name for the islets and adding that they were "China's inherent territory since ancient times".