Japan and China have accused each other of violating the airspace around the Japanese-controlled East China Sea islands, which Beijing also claims. The latest territorial flap came as both appeared to have warmer ties while seeking to mitigate damages from the US tariff war. Japan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement it lodged a “very severe protest” with Beijing after a Chinese helicopter took off from one of China’s four coast guard boats, which had entered Japan’s territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands. The helicopter violated Japanese airspace for about 15 minutes on Saturday, the ministry said. The statement called the incident an “intrusion … into Japan’s territorial airspace” and urged the Chinese government to ensure preventive measures. Japan’s Self-Defense Force scrambled fighter jets in response, according to the Defense Ministry. China also protested to Tokyo over a Japanese civilian aircraft violating its airspace around the islands, saying it was “strongly dissatisfied” about Japan’s “severe violation of China’s sovereignty,” according to a statement by the Chinese Embassy in Japan late Saturday. China Coast Guard said it “immediately took necessary control measures against it in accordance with the law” and dispatched a ship-borne helicopter to warn and drive away the Japanese aircraft.

Full report : China-Japan dispute flares up after ‘ultranationalists’ fly plane over Diaoyu Islands.