JCP Yamashita criticizes Chinese fighter jet for flying too close to SDF aircraft

Commenting on an incident where a Chinese fighter jet flew close to Japanese military aircraft over international waters, the Japanese Communist Party spokesman on May 26 at a press conference in the Diet building said China should refrain from such actions.

The Defense Ministry of Japan on May 24 announced that a Chinese military airplane had dangerously approached to two aircraft of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces in the airspace above the East China Sea around noon on the same day. The Chinese government stated that it was because the SDF planes entered into what Beijing claims is its Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).

JCP Secretariat Head Yamashita Yoshiki told reporters that the JCP in a statement on December 9 last year pointed out that China treats the airspace above international waters as if it is a part of Chinese territory by unilaterally designating it as the ADIZ. Beijing's declaration of the air defense zone violates the freedom of flight over the high seas, which is one of the principles of international aviation law, he stressed.

JCP Yamashita criticized the act of China by saying, "It only increases tension in the region and poses threats to the safety and order of the sky. China should never repeat this kind of action."

Yamashita added that the both governments should do their utmost to make a joint effort to prevent an accident.