Story highlights Beijing accuses Japanese military of risky air maneuvers

China risks escalating tensions with flights near Taiwan

Hong Kong (CNN) Japan lodged a protest Monday against Chinese allegations that its fighter jets engaged in a dangerous mid-air confrontation with Chinese military planes.

China's Defense Ministry said Saturday that the Japanese jets "interfered with Chinese military aircraft from close range and even launched jamming shells, which endangered the safety of Chinese aircraft and crew."

Japan said that fighter jets were scrambled when six Chinese military aircraft "trespassed" into its territorial waters in the Miyako Strait.

"It is extremely regrettable that the Chinese defense ministry announced unilaterally something that clearly differs from the fact. This damages the improvement of Japan-China relationship and we have lodged strong protest," Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Monday.

The nearby waters are home to a long-running territorial dispute between China and Japan over the Senkaku islands, which China calls the Diaoyu islands.

Aerial shot taken on September 15, 2010 shows the disputed islands known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China in the East China Sea.