China has sent fighter jets to the disputed Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea on several occasions since May, with one of them coming within 50km of Japan's territorial airspace around the islets, according to a Japanese government official.

Tokyo scrambled its Air Self-Defence Force (ASDF) after the Chinese aircraft came close to violating Japanese airspace, according to the government source, who described the move as "abnormal," according to the South China Morning Post.

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China and Japan have been involved in a territorial dispute over the uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, which Japan refers to as the Senkaku Islands. The source added that China has sent military aircrafts to the disputed islets more than three times since late May. 

Between April and June, Japan scrambled fighters as a countermeasure for approaching Chinese aircrafts a record 199 times, as opposed to 198 times in the previous quarter, according to Japan's Defence Ministry.

Earlier this month, the ministry released a white paper criticizing China's activities in the disputed waters as "a high-handed, unilateral action to change the status quo."

Tokyo has also protested against the presence of Chinese naval vessels that have sailed in close proximity to or entered the disputed waters of the East China Sea, including a contiguous zone around the Diaoyu islands.

As previously reported, Japan's foreign ministry expressed its concerns in an official statement to Beijing after nearly 230 coast guard ships and fishing vessels were seen in the waters of the disputed East China Sea islets.

Tagschina, Japan, Fighter Jets, East China Sea, East China Sea dispute, Senkaku Islands, Diaoyu Islands, Chinese fighter jets