Japan and China clash over alleged airspace violations, each nation asserting encroachment by the other.
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(Disclaimer: The information provided below is based on a 2025 incident occurring in May. However, we've included a brief historical perspective to better understand the ongoing tensions between China and Japan over the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands.)
Property disputes between Tokyo and Beijing escalate again
Over the weekend, we saw a renewed flare-up in the ongoing conflict over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. These unoccupied islands, known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan, are administered by the Japanese government, but the Chinese government claims sovereignty over them.
On Saturday, China lodged a solemn protest with Japan's embassy, alleging that a "civilian aircraft" had illegally entered the airspace around the Diaoyu Islands. In response, Japan accused China of sending four coast guard ships into Japanese territorial waters and violating Japanese airspace with a helicopter.
Liu Dejun, a spokesperson for the Chinese Coast Guard, asserted on Saturday that a helicopter based on a ship had been assigned to warn and expel the Japanese aircraft. Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, Takehiro Funakoshi, lodged a strong protest with the Chinese ambassador over these incidents.
These incidents mirror a pattern seen in the past, as both countries have repeatedly engaged in mutual accusations and heightened military posturing during air and sea confrontations over the disputed islands. In fact, in May 2025, Japan alleged a Chinese coast guard helicopter had entered its airspace near the Senkaku Islands for approximately 15 minutes, accompanied by four Chinese vessels in Japan’s territorial waters.
Historically, the Diaoyu/Senkaku dispute revolves around competing territorial claims and overlapping exclusive economic zones. While the exact details of a more recent May 2021 incident are not specified, similar incidents typically involve similar patterns of mutual accusations and military escalations.
These tensions have led Japan to strengthen ties with the Philippines and the United States in an effort to deter potential changes to the status quo in the East and South China Seas by force or coercion. In January 2021, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reaffirmed to his Japanese counterpart that the Senkaku Islands fall under the decades-old security treaty that obliges the United States to defend Japan if it is attacked.
- Liu Dejun, the Chinese Coast Guard spokesperson, reaffirmed the deployment of a helicopter to warn and expel Japanese aircraft over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, echoing similar incidents in Japan's historical perspective with China.
- Amidst the escalating conflict over the disputed Senkaku Islands, Japan strengthened its ties with the Philippines and the United States, seeking to deter potential aggressive changes in the East and South China Seas.
- In the ongoing tensions between China and Japan, the US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reaffirmed in January 2021 that the Senkaku Islands fall under the decades-old security treaty, thus obliging the United States to defend Japan if it is attacked in relation to the islands.
- The 2025 incident in May marked a renewed flare-up in the conflict between China and Japan over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, fueling concerns that the disputes can lead to further war-and-conflicts, given the patterns of mutual accusations and military escalations in politics and general news.
