Number of Japan jets scrambled against China planes doubles
TOKYO
(Reuters) - Japan scrambled fighter jets against Chinese planes twice
as often in the year that ended in March as it did a year earlier, the
Defence Ministry said on Wednesday, amid a territorial dispute over a
group of East China Sea islands. The number of scrambles against Chinese
planes…
Number of Japan jets scrambled against China planes doubles
Reuters – 4 hrs ago
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan scrambled fighter jets against Chinese planes twice as often in the year that ended in March as it did a year earlier, the Defence Ministry said on Wednesday, amid a territorial dispute over a group of East China Sea islands.
The number of scrambles against Chinese planes nearly
doubled to 306, accounting for the increase in the number of overall
scrambles from 425 to 567, the highest level in 22 years.
During the year to
March 31, Japan experienced two cases of what it said was actual
encroachment into its air space, one by China in December and the other by Russia in February.
The waters around the disputed islands, called the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, are rich fishing grounds and have potentially huge oil and gas reserves.
The dispute has escalated in recent months to the point where China and Japan
have scrambled fighter jets while patrol ships shadow each other,
raising fear that an unintended collision could lead to a broader clash.
(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Nick Macfie)end quote from:
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