TOKYO — Monday's incursion of a Chinese warplane into Japanese airspace was a “serious violation of Japan's sovereignty,” Defense Minister Minoru Kihara told reporters, but he did not say whether the two sides use a hotline for emergency contact in such situations.
The two-minute interception of a Y-9 reconnaissance aircraft near the Danjo Islands in the East China Sea, southwest of Japan, is the first incident announced by Japan's Defense Ministry. The Air Self-Defense Forces shot down the fighter jets in response.