These islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, are at the heart of a tense dispute between Tokyo and Beijing.<br/> <br />Tensions heightened on Thursday when a Chinese surveillance plane made a brief flight over the islets.<br/> <br />The Japanese government protested the move and responded with a dispatch of Japanese F-15 fighter jets to patrol the area.<br/> <br />China's foreign ministry on Friday defended the flight, saying Japanese aircraft and ships had repeatedly entered waters around the islands since September.<br/> <br />But Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said that while Japan would work with China to deal with the situation in a peaceful manner, it would respond to any provocations to Japanese sovereignty.<br/> <br />Sino-Japanese relations took a tumble in September after Japan bought the territory from a private Japanese owner.
