A Chinese government plane entered what Japan considers its airspace over disputed islets in the East China Sea, according to Japan's foreign minister.
The incident prompted Japan'smilitary to scramble eight F-15 fighter jets, the Defence Ministry said. Japanese officials later said the Chineseaircraft had left the area.
Sino-Japanese relations took a tumble in September after Japan bought the tiny islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, from a private Japanese owner.
"Despite our repeated warnings, Chinese government ships have entered out territorial waters for three days in an row," Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Osama Fujimura told reporters.
"It is extremely regrettable that, on top of that, an intrusion into our airspace has been committed in this way," he said, adding that Japan had formally protested through diplomatic channels.
A Defence Ministry spokesman said as far as he knew it was the first time this year that a Chinese plane had intruded into airspace near the islands, which are under Japan's control.
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