Air Self-Defense Force fighter jets were scrambled Monday after a number of Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force bombers and reconnaissance planes were detected flying over the East China Sea and Sea of Japan, the Defense Ministry's Joint Staff Office in Tokyo said.
The Chinese planes, including six H-6 bombers, one Y-8 early warning aircraft and one Y-9 surveillance plane, flew via the Tsushima Strait from the East China Sea into the Sea of Japan and back. They did not enter Japanese airspace. The flight was the first over the Tsushima Strait since August.
Late Monday, Chinese state-run media criticized Japan for drawing public attention to the operation.