China Invaded Japan’s Airspace around Senkaku

The Ministry of Defense (MOD) announced on May 3rd that a helicopter of China Coast Guard had flown in Japan’s airspace around Senkaku Islands, Okinawa. It marked the fourth example that Chinese aircraft violated Japan’s airspace. Ministry for Foreign Affairs expressed its protest to the activity through diplomatic channels. China argues that the activity was a countermeasure against an illegal intrusion of Japanese civilian aircraft into the area. 

According to the MOD, a patrol boat of Japan Coast Guard confirmed that four vessels of China Coast Guard entered Japan’s territorial waters, 22 kilometers offshore of Senkaku Islands, around the noon of May 3rd. A helicopter took off from one of the vessels on 21 minutes after 12 p.m. and flew for fifteen minutes in Japan’s airspace. Fighter jet scrambled to deal with the incident, but no use of weapon, including shooting of signal flare for warning, occurred during the scrambling.

 

In the previous three examples, two were the invasion around Senkaku Islands. One propeller plane of Chinese National Marine Bureau invaded Japan’s airspace around one of the Senkaku Islands, Uotsuri-jima Island in December 2012. In May 2017, four vessels affiliated to China Coast Guard invaded in Japan’s territorial waters around Senkaku Islands and an unmanned aircraft flew around one of those vessels. An aircraft of Chinese Force entered Japan’s airspace around Danjo Archipelago, Nagasaki, in June 2024.

 

Vice-minister for Foreign Affairs, Takehiro Funakoshi, made a strict protest to Chinese Ambassador to Japan, Wu Jianghao, and urged not to recur any similar acts by the government of China. Director-general of Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau summoned Acting Deputy Chief of Mission of Chinese Embassy, Zhao Baogang, and issued a very severe protest.

 

Chinese government made an argument that the activity by China Coast Guard was a countermeasure against illegal entry of Japanese civilian aircraft. “The Japanese civilian aircraft’s unauthorized entry into Chinese airspace over Diaoyu Dao constituted serious infringement of China’s territorial sovereignty,” said a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of National Defense, Zhang Xiaogang.

 

While China argues its sovereignty in Senkaku Islands recent years, Japan’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs takes a positionin which Senkaku Islands are obviously Japan’s inherited territory in terms of history and international laws and the islands are under the valid control of Japan. “There exists no issue of territorial sovereignty to be resolved concerning the Senkaku Islands,” says the ministry. 

 

Chinese government insists on that the islands are inherited territory of China without valid reason. Japan has been protesting unilateral change of status quo in Asian region, indicating China’s coercive advance to East and South China Sea, including the area around Senkaku Islands.

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