On May 26, DPJ Next Minister of Defence Shu Watanabe, and DPJ Next Minister for Foreign Affairs Tetsuro Fukuyama issued the following comment.

The Japanese Ministry of Defense announced that on Saturday May 24, at around 11 am and again at 12 pm, two Chinese fighters flew abnormally close to aircraft of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force over the East China Sea, approaching to within several tens of metres of the Japanese aircraft.

We would like to lodge a protest against this action by the Chinese aircraft, which is extremely dangerous and might have led to an unforeseen incident.
We would like to call on the Japanese government to continue to engage in warning and surveillance activities, as well as to take a responsible attitude, by for example working to construct a mechanism for maritime communication that includes airspace, as well as a hotline.