This
handout picture taken by the Japan Coast Guard on Thursday shows a
Chinese government plane flying near the Diaoyu Islands in the East
China Sea. Japan scrambled fighter jets after the Chinese plane entered
airspace over the islands at the center of a dispute between Tokyo and
Beijing. Photo: AFP
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Thursday that it is "normal"
for a Chinese marine surveillance plane to patrol the airspace over the
Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea, prompting Japan to scramble
fighter jets to the area.