China admits plane entered Japan airspace in August but says it was unintentional

TOKYO — China has admitted that one of its military planes entered Japan's airspace in August but said it was unintentional and vowed to take measures to prevent similar incidents from happening again, Japanese government officials said Tuesday.

The Japanese government, despite China's explanation, maintains that the Aug 26 incident involving the Chinese military Y-9 spy plane was an airspace breach that was "a grave violation" of the nation's sovereignty, they said.

The Chinese government was quoted as telling Japan that the plane was hit by turbulence, prompting the crew to take evasive action that caused it to "enter Japanese airspace for a short time."

"It was a technical issue and there was no intention to enter a territorial airspace," the Chinese government was quoted as saying.

According to the Japanese Defense Ministry, the Chinese military plane flew over the East China Sea off the Danjo Islands in the southwestern prefecture of Nagasaki for around two minutes from 11:29 a.m. on Aug 26 despite repeated warnings.

The intrusion was the first by a Chinese military aircraft that Japan has confirmed.

China had promised it was investigating the circumstances and the Japanese government made public Tuesday the explanation it had received. The Japanese officials did not say when Beijing offered its account.

One of the officials raised doubts over China's argument blaming an "airflow," saying the weather conditions at the time would not have affected any flights. The Japanese Air Self-Defense Force fighter jets that scrambled in response also did not report any turbulence.

While reiterating that the incident was "totally unacceptable," the officials also said Tokyo will "take note" of Beijing's explanation and will closely watch what actions will follow.

The two Asian neighbors have long been at odds over the Japanese-administered, Chinese-claimed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, and Chinese coast guard vessels have repeatedly entered Japanese territorial waters around the uninhabited islets.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba aired "serious concerns" Friday about the situation in the East China Sea and the "intensification of Chinese military activities" during his first summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, which took place on the fringes of a regional economic meeting in Peru.

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