Japanese defence planes were deployed after Chinese bombers flew through a key passage into the Pacific Ocean, it has been confirmed.

Chinese jets carried out drills in the Western Pacific, flying through the Bashi Channel – which separates Taiwan and the Philippines – and the Miyako Strait near Japan’s Okinawa island.

The Chinese air force described the exercises as part of annual planned drills, which it says accord with international law and practice.

Although the flights were legal, they did pass through a sensitive area – despite not infringing into Japanese airspace.

It happened at a time when China has been increasingly asserting itself in territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas.

The flashpoint happened on the day of talks between China and Japan aimed at preventing accidental clashes between aircraft and vessels.