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Kyodo

Japan scrambled Air Self-Defence Force fighter jets against Chinese aircraft approaching its airspace a record 199 times in the April-June period, the Defence Ministry’s Joint Staff said on Tuesday.
The previous record of 198 was set over the preceding three months, and shows, according to Japanese authorities, Chinese military activity, including naval operations, is intensifying in areas near the Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.
‘Provocative actions’: China confirms military encounter with Japanese jets in East China Sea ADIZ
The Joint Staff said the area of Chinese aircraft activity has been moving southward, nearing the islands that are also claimed by China, which calls them Diaoyu.

Japan scrambled ASDF fighters 281 times in the three months through June, also including 78 times against Russian aircraft. No Chinese or Russian aircraft violated Japanese airspace during the period.
But a report published last week on a news website and written by a former head of the ASDF Air Support Command described an incident in which, it claimed, a Chinese fighter had manoeuvred aggressively as if to attack an ASDF plane over the East China Sea.
Japan scrambles jets after Chinese military fleet flies near Miyako and Okinawa
The Joint Staff has denied the report.
On Monday, the Chinese Defence Ministry countered the report, saying two ASDF planes had locked onto two Chinese fighter jets with their radar, a provocative action since that enables radar-guided munitions.
The Japanese government on Tuesday dismissed the claim as groundless.


Japan deploys jets against Chinese aircraft 199 times in three months

A Japanese F-15 jet approaches a Chinese plane (out of frame) in 2014 in a spot where the two countries' air defence zones overlap. Photo: AFP

A Chinese SU-27 fighter flies over the East China Sea, in this handout photo taken May 24, 2014 and released by the Defense Ministry of Japan May 25, 2014. Chinese fighter jets flew within a few dozen metres of Japanese military planes over the East China Sea, Japanese officials said on Sunday, prompting the defence minister to accuse Beijing of going "over the top" in its approach to disputed territory. REUTERS/Defense Ministry of Japan/Handout via Reuters (JAPAN - Tags: TRANSPORT POLITICS MILITARY) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

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Asia

East Asia

Japan claims Chinese military activity intensifying near contested areas of the East China Sea
