Beijing warplanes resume ‘patrols’ over Taiwan airspace

A Taiwan Air Force fighter AIDC F-CK-1 Ching-kuo intercepts a PLA H-6 bomber above the Taiwan Strait. Photo: Taiwan Defense Ministry.

 

Six Chinese warplanes, including four H-6 strategic bombers, two electronic intelligence jets, one Tu-154MD and the other Y-8, flew past the Miyako Strait between Taiwan and Japan’s Okinawa prefecture on November 19, until the Japanese Self-defence Force scrambled jet fighters to monitor and intercept the flyover, Japan’s Ministry of Defence said.

Taiwan authorities confirmed that the Chinese warplanes crossed deep into the island’s airspace – above the waters off Eastern Taiwan – before following the same route back.

Japan Planning Military Deployment to its Southernmost Islands

The Defense Ministry of Japan is planning to deploy units of its Ground Self-Defense Force to the islands of Miyako and Ishigaki southwest of Okinawa, in what Japanese government sources claimed to be a response to increased maritime activity from Chinese naval vessels in the Pacific Ocean close to the islands.

Around 600 military personnel, equipped with surface-to-ship missiles, are to be deployed on the islands, which are controlled by Japan as part of its Okinawa Prefecture.

PLA wants dominance in Western Pacific: US experts

China is increasing the frequency of its naval exercises with the aim of contesting the Second Island Chain in the Pacific — a series of island groups that runs north to south from the Japanese archipelago to the Bonin and Marshall islands — and taking control of the Taiwan Strait, reports our Chinese-language sister paper Want Daily.

Just two months after the largest naval exercise in the country’s history, the People’s Liberation Army Navy has again deployed vessels to the West Pacific for more sea drills.

Japan To Deploy Anti-Ship Missiles On Okinawa’s Miyako Island

Japan plans to deploy a surface-to-ship missile unit on Miyako Island in the country’s southern-most Okinawa prefecture for the first time next month.

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This would put all waters between the islands within range of the guided anti-ship missiles, reports the NHK broadcaster.

senkaku-7: An independent Okinawa: Japan’s worst-case scenario

In May, a private-sector study group advocating the independence of Okinawa Prefecture from Japan was formed. The group is led by Ryukoku University Prof. Yasukatsu Matsushima, a native of Ishigaki Island, Okinawa Prefecture, and its secretariat is based at Okinawa International University.

The group, known as the “comprehensive study group on the independence of Ryukyuans,” has about 150 members, including House of Representatives and Social Democratic Party member Kantoku Teruya, who repre-sents Okinawa Constituency No. 2.

Its charter states: “Ryukyu has been under the rule of Japan and the United States. It is necessary that we Ryukyuans declare independence from Japan, have all military bases withdrawn from our islands, and build the islands of peace and hope with our own hands.”

Chinese airplane enters Japanese airspace over Senkakus for 1st time

A Chinese government airplane entered Japanese airspace over the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea on Thursday in the first such airspace intrusion in Japan, prompting an immediate protest from the Japanese government.

The Air Self-Defense Force scrambled F-15 fighter jets to the area after one of China’s State Oceanic Administration airplanes was spotted at 11:06 a.m. about 15 kilometers south of Uotsuri Island, one of the Japanese-administered Senkakus claimed by China, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told reporters.

It is the first-ever intrusion by China into Japanese airspace since Tokyo started tallying the number of such intrusions in 1958, according to the Defense Ministry.

Chinese Warships Approach, Then Pull From Japan Waters

Japan’s Defense Ministry said that several Chinese ships were spotted in the area near Japanese territorial waters, moving toward the disputed Senkaku Islands, before they pulled away hours later. The two nations have been at an impasse over who owns the rocky islands in the East China Sea and tensions remain high.