Photo: NHK

Japan's Defense Ministry said Japan scrambled fighter jets after a Chinese plane was spotted Thursday morning near the disputed Diaoyu / Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. The Chinese plane was identified as a Y-12 of China's State Oceanic Administration. Tokyo said it dispatched Air Self-defense Force F15 fighter jets to intercept the Chinese plane before it entered the airspace above the Islands and the Y-12 turned back towards China. The Japan Coast Guard said the incident occurred two hours after three marine vessels of the Chinese government entered and then left the area.