A Chinese military plane H-6 bomber like one that was sent out
The exercises come at a time of heightened tension in the disputed waters after an arbitration court in The Hague ruled last month that China did not have historic rights to the South China Sea.

The air force sent several H-6 bombers and Su-30 fighter jets to inspect the airspace around the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal, Senior Colonel Shen Jinke of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force said, according to state news agency Xinhua.

In a separate incident, Japan issued a new protest after Chinese coastguard ships and about 230 fishing vessels sailed close to what Tokyo considers its territorial waters.

Three of the six Chinese coastguard ships that were in the so-called contiguous waters on Saturday appeared to be armed, Japan’s coastguard said.

Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Shinsuke Sugiyama had on Friday summoned China’s ambassador to Japan, Cheng Yonghua, to lodge a strong protest, the ministry said.

China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, in a statement posted on the ministry’s website, said China had indisputable sovereignty over the islands and nearby waters.

Ms Chunying said: “At the same time, China is adopting measures to appropriately manage the situation in relevant waters.”

Japan should make “constructive efforts for stability” and not take actions that might complicate the situation, she said, without elaborating.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/697332/South-China-Sea-row-fighter-jets-bombers-Japan