Sharjah 24 – AFP: China said Wednesday a flight by 16 military aircraft over hotly contested waters off Malaysia was routine training, after the Southeast Asian nation accused Beijing of breaching its sovereignty.
Malaysia scrambled fighter jets Monday to intercept the Chinese air force transport planes that appeared off Borneo over the South China Sea, where it has overlapping territorial claims with Beijing.
The Malaysian foreign minister criticised the flight as an "intrusion" and said the government would lodge a protest with Beijing and summon the Chinese ambassador.
But a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Kuala Lumpur said the "activities are routine flight training of the Chinese air force and do not target any country".
"According to relevant international law, Chinese military aircraft enjoy the freedom of overflight in the relevant airspace," he said.
The planes had not entered any other country's territorial airspace, the spokesman added in a statement.
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