China says it has ‘no intention’ of breaching any nation’s airspace after Japan claim

The Japanese defence ministry alleged the PLA aircraft had crossed into the East China Sea islands’ territorial airspace – which extends 12 nautical miles from their coast – for about two minutes. It said fighter jets were scrambled in response, but there was no confrontation between the two sides.

“We refrain from giving a definite answer as to the intended purpose of the Chinese aircraft’s action. However, China’s recent military activities near Japan have a tendency to expand and become increasingly active,” he said.

The Japanese foreign ministry said it had summoned acting Chinese ambassador Shi Yong “to protest extremely severely and strongly request the prevention of a recurrence”.

“Both sides had an exchange of views on China-Japan relations and issues of mutual interest and concern,” according to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry.

Japan reportedly completed an eighth release of treated radioactive waste water into the Pacific Ocean on Sunday, a year after the clean-up process began at the Fukushima plant that was hit by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011. Three more discharges are expected to follow between now and March next year.