Japan scrambles fighter jets 999 times as Chinese sorties increase
- Chinese military planes were involved in nearly two-thirds of the interceptions made by Japanese fighter jets in the past year
- The number of interceptions is the second highest figure on record
Japanese fighter jets were scrambled 999 times to intercept foreign aircraft over the past financial year – and Chinese military planes were involved in nearly two-thirds of the interceptions.
The number of interceptions was up from 904 the previous year and was the second highest figure on record.
Japanese fighters also came up against unmanned aircraft, including a drone found about 160km to the north of the uninhabited Diaoyus in April.
Russian aircraft were involved in 343 of the interceptions, primarily off Hokkaido.
“China has stated it intends to expand its military presence and capabilities in the maritime domain and in terms of the airspace it utilises,” an official of Japan’s National Institute of Defence Studies said.
“We saw a decline in these sorts of incidents in 2017 from the year before, but it appears that Beijing has once again decided to step up these flights and the normal trend of recent years has been resumed,” said the official.