East China Sea: Japan ‘constantly scrambling jets’ as tensions with Beijing mount

Japan now operating a near constant air presence over the disputed Diaoyu, or Senkaku, islands in response to more aggressive probing by Chinese jets

News comes as it emerges Beijing has demanded Tokyo prevent Japanese fishing boats from ‘trespassing’ in what China claims are its territorial waters

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A Japanese F-15 fighter is scrambled from its base in Naha, Okinawa. Photo: Kyodo

Published: 5:00pm, 20 Jul 2020Updated: 12:27am, 21 Jul 2020

Japan’s Air Self-Defence Force is scrambling interceptors every time Chinese military aircraft are detected taking off from an airbase in Fujian province on the assumption that they are going to probe Japanese defences around disputed islands in the East China Sea.

The escalation in activity in the skies above the uninhabited Diaoyu Islands, which are administered by Japan, where they are known as the Senkakus, means the ASDF is effectively operating a constant dawn-to-dusk combat air patrol over the islands, government sources told Kyodo News. Previously, Japanese fighters were only scrambled in response to specific threats.

China was previously carrying out air operations close to the Diaoyus from a base in Zhejiang province but the fighters were last year relocated to an installation in Fujian. That means that Chinese J-11 fighters can reach the disputed air space over the islands in as little as 20 minutes.

The ASDF base at Naha, on the main island of Okinawa prefecture, is 410km from the Diaoyus, a flight of around 25 minutes for ASDF F-15 fighters.

The Diaoyu Islands, known in Japan as the Senkakus. Photo: Kyodo

A constant presence over the islands is costly for the ASDF, but the tactic has permitted Japanese pilots to intercept and block the inbound Chinese jets at a defensive line set at a latitude of 27 degrees north. Japan is also committing more aircraft to the effort, with the ASDF previously countering one Chinese fighter with two jets. That has now been stepped up and each Chinese aircraft will be met by four Japanese F-15s.

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