An airplane belonging to China's state oceanic administration 15 km south of the disputed islets, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. December 13, 2012. (Reuters/11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters-Japan Coast Guard)
Tokyo Scrambles More Jets Against China -- Wall Street Journal
TOKYO—Japan scrambled fighter jets against Chinese planes far more frequently in the last quarter of 2012, underscoring growing concerns that the territorial dispute between the two nations is escalating into more dangerous tensions in the sky.
The increase shows Tokyo is responding aggressively to Chinese planes entering areas inside and outside of what Japan considers its airspace over the East China Sea, where the two neighbors have squabbled bitterly over a group of small uninhabited islands known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.
Japan's Self-Defense Forces on Thursday said the air force conducted 91 scrambles against Chinese aircraft in the three-month period, the largest quarterly tally since Tokyo started disclosing such data in 2005. For decades, Japan has routinely dispatched fighter jets to keep foreign aircraft—mostly Russian jets—out of its airspace, but the number of scrambles against Chinese planes has been rising sharply in recent years.
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Update: ASDF jets scrambled 160 times against China planes between April, December -- Japan Times
My Comment: Both sides are not going to back down .... to do so would mean a 'lost of face' and severe political repercussions back home.
1 comment:
Yes sir, I agree. And, by some extraordinary measure, a plane, from either side, gets shot or even shot down, then all is going to bust loose. I think each side has a lesson they want to teach. Japan wants to teach China not to bully, and China wants to teach Japan thats it's the 800lbs Gorilla in the room. And 800lbs Gorillas can do alot of bullying!
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