Tokyo, Dec. 16 (ANI): The United States has voiced its concern after a Chinese state-owned plane breached Japanese airspace over the Senkaku Islands for the first time on record, overflying the uninhabited islands amid bitter bilateral row.
"It's important to avoid actions that raise tensions and to prevent miscalculations that could undermine peace, security and economic growth in the region," U.S. State Department acting deputy spokesman Patrick Ventrell said Friday.
According to Japan Times, Washington has raised its concerns with Beijing, Ventrell said, adding the United States made clear that its 'policy and commitments regarding the Senkaku Islands are long-standing and have not changed'.
"U.S. officials have also spoken with the Japanese government", he added.
Japan scrambled eight F-15 fighter jets on Thursday after detecting the first incursion by a Chinese Government aircraft into Japan's airspace above the Senkaku chain since monitoring began in 1958, the Defense Ministry reported.
According to the report, observers suggest the move was part of a campaign by China to create a 'new normal', in which its forces can come and go as they please around the Japan-controlled isles, which Beijing calls Diaoyu and has claimed since the 1970s.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said the flight had been routine, with spokesman Hong Lei saying, "China's maritime surveillance plane flying over the Diaoyu islands is completely normal.
"China requires the Japanese side to stop illegal activities in the waters and airspace of the Diaoyu," Hong said, reiterating Beijing's assertion that they have been "China's inherent territory since ancient times." (ANI)
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