<p>Japan scrambled jets after 11 Chinese military planes flew near southern Japanese islands during what Beijing said was a drill to improve its long-range combat abilities, reports said today.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The planes - eight bombers, two intelligence gathering planes and one early-warning aircraft - flew near Miyako and Okinawa yesterday without violating Japan's airspace, the Japanese defence ministry said in a statement.<br /><br />Some of them flew between the two islands while others made flights close to neighbouring islands, the ministry said. A Chinese air force spokesman said several types of planes, including H-6K bombers, were involved in yesterday's drill over the western Pacific, China's Xinhua news agency reported.<br /><br />Shen Jinke said such open sea exercises had improved the force's long-distance combat abilities, according to Xinhua.<br /><br />While there were no further comments from the Japanese ministry, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported that it was "unusual" for China to dispatch such a large fleet close to Japan's airspace and the ministry was analysing the purpose of the mission.<br /><br />Japan scrambles jets hundreds of times a year to defend its airspace, both against Russia and these days also against Chinese aircraft.<br /><br />Beijing has warned this is heightening tensions between the two Asian powerhouses, which are already at loggerheads over a longstanding territorial row in the East China <br />Sea and Japanese military aggression in the first half of the 20th century.<br /><br />The move comes with tensions running high in the South China Sea after a US warship sailed close to at least one land formation claimed by China, which has rattled its neighbours with its increasingly assertive stance in territorial disputes.<br /><br />China transformed reefs in the region into small islands capable of supporting military facilities, a move the US says threatens freedom of navigation in a region through which one-third of the world's oil passes.<br /><br />China insists on sovereignty over virtually all the resource-endowed South China Sea, which is also claimed in part by a handful of other countries. Washington has repeatedly said it does not recognise the Chinese claims.<br /><br /></p>
<p>Japan scrambled jets after 11 Chinese military planes flew near southern Japanese islands during what Beijing said was a drill to improve its long-range combat abilities, reports said today.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The planes - eight bombers, two intelligence gathering planes and one early-warning aircraft - flew near Miyako and Okinawa yesterday without violating Japan's airspace, the Japanese defence ministry said in a statement.<br /><br />Some of them flew between the two islands while others made flights close to neighbouring islands, the ministry said. A Chinese air force spokesman said several types of planes, including H-6K bombers, were involved in yesterday's drill over the western Pacific, China's Xinhua news agency reported.<br /><br />Shen Jinke said such open sea exercises had improved the force's long-distance combat abilities, according to Xinhua.<br /><br />While there were no further comments from the Japanese ministry, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported that it was "unusual" for China to dispatch such a large fleet close to Japan's airspace and the ministry was analysing the purpose of the mission.<br /><br />Japan scrambles jets hundreds of times a year to defend its airspace, both against Russia and these days also against Chinese aircraft.<br /><br />Beijing has warned this is heightening tensions between the two Asian powerhouses, which are already at loggerheads over a longstanding territorial row in the East China <br />Sea and Japanese military aggression in the first half of the 20th century.<br /><br />The move comes with tensions running high in the South China Sea after a US warship sailed close to at least one land formation claimed by China, which has rattled its neighbours with its increasingly assertive stance in territorial disputes.<br /><br />China transformed reefs in the region into small islands capable of supporting military facilities, a move the US says threatens freedom of navigation in a region through which one-third of the world's oil passes.<br /><br />China insists on sovereignty over virtually all the resource-endowed South China Sea, which is also claimed in part by a handful of other countries. Washington has repeatedly said it does not recognise the Chinese claims.<br /><br /></p>