Japan condemns China military plane incursion as 'grave' violation

TOKYO -- Monday's incursion by a Chinese military plane into Japanese airspace was a "grave violation of Japan's sovereignty," Defense Minister Minoru Kihara told reporters, but he did not say whether the two sides had used a hotline for emergency communication in such situations.

The two-minute breach by a Y-9 reconnaissance plane near the Danjo Islands in the East China Sea in southwestern Japan was the first of its kind disclosed by Japan's Defense Ministry. The Air Self-Defense Force scrambled fighter jets in response.