China’s Foreign Ministry has stressed that China has no intention of intruding into the airspace of other countries, following the reports that Japan confirmed a violation of its territorial airspace by a Chinese military plane for the first time.
Japan’s Defense Ministry said on Monday that the Chinese military’s Y-9 intelligence-gathering aircraft flew for about two minutes in the morning over waters southeast of the Danjo Islands in Goto City, Nagasaki Prefecture.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters on Tuesday that China’s relevant offices are confirming what happened. He also stressed that China has no intention of invading the airspace of any country.
Japan’s Vice Foreign Minister Okano Masataka on Monday summoned the Chinese Embassy’s Charge d’Affaires ad interim Shi Yong to the ministry in Tokyo. Okano lodged a very severe protest over the incident and strongly urged the Chinese government to prevent a recurrence.
Referring to the move, spokesperson Lin said the two sides have maintained communication through existing working channels.