For the first time in history, Japan says, a Chinese spy plane crossed into Japanese airspace on August 26 by flying too close to a number of its westernmost islands, according to the Japanese Ministry of Defense.
The country responded immediately by sending up fighter jets to catch up to a Chinese Y-9 spy plane that was cruising over the East China Sea after it spent two minutes in Japanese airspace over the Danjo islands.
No one lives on these islands, but they’re under the control of Goto city, which is located in the Nagasaki prefecture. Japanese military reports state the Chinese plane stayed inside Japanese air space from 11:29 a.m. to 11:31 a.m., but stayed in the general region for another hour.
The Y-9 plane is part of the Chinese air force, and is kitted out to pick up electronic communications from foreign military craft. Apparently a Y-9 is not an uncommon presence in the archipelago of islands in Japan. It appears that the plane’s trip to the Japanese islands was part of a reconnaissance exercise that lasted for several hours.
Photos taken by Japan show that the Y-9 is a four-engine turboprop.
The Japanese television network NHK reported that the Japanese military warned the Chinese plane by radio not to get too close to their airspace while the plane was making its way toward Kyushu. It is not clear whether the Chinese pilot responded, but the plane did not deviate from its course. Though Japan sent up its own fighter jets, the Chinese spy craft was outside the country’s air space by the time they arrived.
The Japanese Defense Ministry said the situation was “extremely regrettable,” and that they’re still analyzing the incident to pinpoint China’s intentions. So far, China has not commented on the incident.
The plane’s actions are an unfortunate first. Before Monday, no Chinese military aircraft in history have violated Japan’s air borders, although non-military planes have.
Japan said its fighter jets “issued warnings,” but said no flares or weapons were used; it is not clear what warnings consisted of.
