Japan calls Chinese aircraft incursion a 'serious violation'

Japan on Aug 27 slammed what it called the first confirmed incursion by a Chinese military aircraft into its airspace as a "serious violation" of its sovereignty, saying Beijing was becoming "increasingly active".

China's growing economic and military clout in the Asia-Pacific region and its assertiveness in territorial disputes - most recently with the Philippines - has rattled the United States and its allies, and the Aug 26 incident represents a further heightening of tensions.

Tokyo, Washington's closest ally in the region, said it scrambled fighter jets after the two-minute incursion from 11.29am (10.29am Singapore time) on Aug 26 by the Y-9 surveillance aircraft off the Danjo Islands in the East China Sea.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Aug 27 that relevant departments in China were still trying to understand the situation.

"The two sides have maintained communication through existing working channels," Mr Lin Jian, a ministry spokesman, said at a news briefing.

"I'd also like to emphasise that China has no intention of invading the airspace of any country," he said.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan was due in Beijing later on Aug 27 for talks with top diplomat Wang Yi that will include the South China Sea.