Japan has accused the Chinese spy plane of violating its airspace. According to Japan, the ‘Y-9’ spy plane ‘violated the airspace’ of Danzo Island for about two minutes at 11:29 local time on Monday.
This is Japan’s first accusation that China has violated its airspace. Japan’s chief cabinet secretary said the Chinese move was ‘completely unacceptable’. According to the BBC, he inquired about it with an official of the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo. China is competing against the US and its partners, including Japan, to gain influence in the region. According to Japanese broadcaster NHK, Japanese authorities have issued a warning to Chinese aircraft against Monday’s encroachment.
The Japanese government has contacted Beijing through diplomatic channels to strongly oppose the encroachment and demand that such violations be prevented in the future. But Beijing has not given any official response about it. Tokyo recently warned of the presence of Chinese ships in the Senkaku Islands in the South China Sea. China has been claiming the island as its own. The island, which is believed to contain oil and gas reserves, has been a major source of tension between Beijing and its neighbors in recent years.
The island of Okinawa in Japan is another cause of tension. Okinawa is the largest US military base in the Asia-Pacific region. Similarly, American troops are stationed in Taiwan, Philippines and South Korea. Professor Ian Chong, an expert in Chinese foreign policy at the National University of Singapore, told the BBC, ‘Before this, China did not directly enter Japanese airspace, so the latest incident seems somewhat alarming.’ In recent years, China’s behavior in Taiwan and the Philippines is normal.
Chinese military planes flew 66 times in Taiwan’s airspace on the same day last month in the ‘Taiwan Strait’, the unofficial border between China and Taiwan. Similarly, the Philippines recently said that China is the biggest obstacle to peace in Southeast Asia. The Philippines made such a comment after a clash in the disputed part of the South China Sea on Sunday. “It is normal for us to expect such behavior from China, because this is a conflict,” said Philippine Defense Minister Gilberto Teodoro.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is in Beijing this week for talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The two sides will discuss the South China Sea tensions, differences and their causes. ‘America is looking for ways to avoid possibly uncontrollable tensions. However, it seems difficult to put this proposal into practice,’ said Professor Chong.
