Chinese fighter jets flew unusually close to Japanese military patrol planes over the weekend, Tokyo said, after two Chinese aircraft carriers were spotted operating simultaneously in the Pacific for the first time.

Tokyo has lodged a strong protest with Beijing following a dangerous encounter between Chinese fighter jets and a Japanese patrol plane in the Pacific. The incident, occurring last weekend, involved Chinese jets flying within 45 meters of the Japanese aircraft.

Incident comes a day after Japan said it sighted 2 Chinese carriers simultaneously sailing in western Pacific - Anadolu Ajansı