Regular patrols by Japanese aircraft only reach into the East China Sea, where Japan and China are embroiled in a sovereignty dispute over a group of islands. Extending flights into the South China Sea would almost certainly increase tension between the world's second- and third-largest economies.
"We currently do not patrol there or have a plan to do so, but we are deepening our cooperation with the U.S. and the situation in the South China Sea has an impact on our national security, and we are aware that we will need to consider our response," Defence Minister Gen Nakatani told reporters on Tuesday.
Nakatani's remarks came in response to an interview published by Reuters in which Robert Thomas, commander of the U.S. Seventh Fleet, said Japanese surveillance flights in the South China Sea would help keep tabs on a growing fleet of Chinese vessels overwhelming the surveillance capacity of Southeast Asian nations.
China responded to Thomas's comments by warning Japan not to "create tension".
Read more at Reuters
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