Chinese fighter jets buzzed Japanese military planes in airspace that both countries claim as their identification zone, prompting Tokyo to summon the Chinese ambassador Thursday, according to dpa. A Chinese SU-27 fighter flew to within 30 metres of a Japanese YS-11 EB plane, and an OP-3C reconnaissance plane was also approached by another fighter in the same airspace, Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters late Wednesday. Vice Foreign Minister Akitaka Saiki met with the Chinese Ambassador to Japan Cheng Yonghua to lodge a protest over the incident, according to Japanese government officials. The encounters took place from around 11 am (0200 GMT) to noon Wednesday, but the Chinese jets did not intrude into Japanese airspace, the Defence Ministry said.
