A Chinese cook who crashed into the sea while trying to fly a hot-air balloon to islands claimed by both China and Japan has been rescued by Japan’s coast guard.

Xu Shuaijun, 35, crashed on Wednesday after hitting turbulence as he approached the islands, known in Japan as Senkaku and Diayou in China, the coast guard said on Thursday.

The coast guard said it received a missing-person report from Taiwanese officials and that one of its helicopters spotted Xu about 20km from the islands.

He was picked up by a boat and later handed over to a Chinese patrol ship, the coast guard said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Xu was in good condition.

Qin disavowed any official ties with Xu. “I note that he is a hot-air balloon enthusiast,” he said.

The islands have been a sore point in bilateral relations for years, and nationalists from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong have occasionally tried to sail to them.

A recent visit by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to a Tokyo shrine that honours World War II war criminals has outraged China, adding to the bilateral tensions.