Japan will shoot down PLA drones if necessary: defense ministry

The Japanese defense ministry said on Sept. 17 that Chinese unmanned aerial vehicles found flying over the disputed Diaoyutai (Diaoyu or Senkaku) islands in the East China Sea will be shot down by the country’s Self-Defense Forces, reports the Tokyo-based Nippon Hoso Kyokai.

Japanese Self-Defense Force jets scramble Chinese bombers

Japan’s Defense Ministry on Sunday reported that two Chinese H-6 bombers were spotted flying around the East China Sea to the Pacific Ocean. Even though the aircraft did not violate Japanese airspace, Air Self-Defense Force jets scrambled the fighter aircraft just the same, after the planes were also spotted overflying waters near the Okinawa islands.

Japan Scrambles Fighter Jets to Track Russian Bombers

From the state-run Russian propaganda outlet, RIA Novosti:

TOKYO, July 16 (RIA Novosti) – Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force had to scramble fighter jets in response to flights by Russian military aircraft near Japanese airspace and over the disputed Kuril Islands on Monday, local media reported.

Two Tu-95 Bear bombers flew over the Sea of Japan moving from the Korean Peninsula, and proceeded along the Japanese archipelago to the north of Hokkaido. Another plane, the IL-20, flew over the Kuril Islands, NHK television said late Monday citing the Defense Ministry.

Inside the Ring: New Bear bomber flights

Two Russian strategic nuclear bombers carried out a fourth high-profile training flight last week, flying near South Korea, where large-scale war games are under way, and near Japan and the U.S. military bases on Okinawa.

It was the fourth time since June 2012 that Russian bombers have run up against U.S. and allied air defense zones in the Pacific.

North Korea’s neighbours prepare for war after hermit nation’s nuclear test

South Korea and Japan bolstered military preparations and mobilized scientists Wednesday as North Korea’s neighbours tried to determine if Pyongyang’s third nuclear test was as successful as it claimed.

The detonation was also the focus of global diplomatic maneuvers, with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry reaching out to counterparts in Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo. President Barack Obama used his State of the Union address to assure U.S. allies in the region and warn of “firm action.”

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Intelligence officials and analysts in Seoul raised the possibility of another nuclear test and of ballistic missile test-launches. North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said the latest test was merely its “first response” to what it called U.S. threats and that Pyongyang will continue with unspecified “second and third measures of greater intensity” if Washington maintains its hostility.