Japan’s military reported that it scrambled jets in response to Chinese drones 30 times over the past year, marking a more than threefold increase compared to the previous year. This escalation coincides with China’s ongoing efforts to enhance its air force capabilities. At a press conference, Japan’s military chief of staff, Yoshihide Yoshida, indicated that the overall trend of airspace incursions remained elevated.
In the financial year concluding on March 31, Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force launched fighter jets a total of 704 times to intercept foreign aircraft. A significant 66 percent of these scrambles, amounting to 464 incidents, involved aircraft or drones identified or suspected to be from China. This figure represents a slight decrease from the 479 interceptions recorded in the preceding year. Notably, the number of Chinese drones spotted in its airspace increased to 30, up from just nine during the previous fiscal year.
Russian military activity also saw a significant rise, accounting for 237 scramble incidents—up from 174 the prior year. The recent joint naval exercises conducted by Russian and Chinese warships in the Sea of Japan, described by President Vladimir Putin as the most extensive maneuvers in three decades, further illustrate the growing military collaboration between the two nations.
According to Japan’s Joint Staff, most of the Chinese flights during the fiscal year involved operations around Taiwan and the nearby region of Okinawa. This increased aerial activity comes as Beijing intensifies its military pressure on Taiwan, which it views as a breakaway province, particularly in light of recent drills that analysts interpret as potentially signaling preparations for a future takeover.
The situation escalated earlier this year when a Chinese military aircraft violated Japanese airspace off Kyushu island for the first time. In September, Japanese forces responded to a new challenge when a Japanese jet fired a signal flare to deter a Russian military aircraft that had entered territorial airspace off Hokkaido island. This marked a significant moment, as it was the first such firing directed at a Russian plane since 2019.
In the context of its military collaborations, Japan has maintained its support for Ukraine amidst the ongoing conflict, imposing sanctions on Russian entities and individuals following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. In a further development, Japan’s defense minister announced that the U.S. military would soon deploy long-range surveillance drones to Okinawa, aimed at enhancing intelligence-gathering capabilities in the region, indicating a strategic collaboration to address rising security concerns in East Asia.
