Air Violation by Chinese Military Aircraft

Ministry of Defense announced that a Chinese military aircraft violated Japan’s territorial airspace offshore Nagasaki prefecture in the morning of August 26. It was the first time that Japan confirmed Chinese military aircraft violating Japan’s territorial airspace. While the ministry assesses what was China’s intention of the violation, the news media assumes it as warning Japan of its security enhancement with like-minded nations.

The ministry revealed that a Y-9 transport aircraft of Chinese military, used for collecting information, violated Japan’s air territory offshore Danjo Islands, Nagasaki, on 11:29 a.m. of August 26 and exited on 11:31 a.m. The aircraft flew from East China Sea to Kyushu Island of Japan, circling offshore the islands before entering Japan’s territory and flew to the direction of China’s mainland.

 

The Air Self-defense Force of Japan made a scrambling of fighter jets and warned the Chinese aircraft with Chinese and English languages. The fighter jets have not made any use of weapon, including a warning shot. The SDF makes a scramble against an intruder in Japan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) set outside of its territory. The SDF has made 669 scrambles in FY 2023, 479 out of which was against Chinese aircrafts.

 

Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Masatoshi Okano, called Deputy Ambassador of China to Tokyo to the ministry on 5:30 p.m., and remonstrated on the violation and demanded measures not to repeat it. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi announced that Japan cannot accept it at all. China’s Foreign Ministry stressed that China had no intention to violate any foreign territory.

 

This air violation made the forty-seventh example and most of the past violations were made by Russia or former Soviet Union. China made the violation with an aircraft of National Ocean Bureau around Uotsuri-jima of Senkaku Islands in 2012 and with a drone around Senkaku Islands in 2017. Those two cases were not the violations by military equipment.

 

There is an assessment that the Chinese aircraft entered Japan’s territory by simple mistake. Some analysts supposed that the aircraft might have been confused right after entering the territory, because the aircraft made a sharp turn. Considering the location of two radar facilities of warning and observation around the area of violation, it is likely that the Chinese aircraft was collecting information of frequency of the radar. The Self-defense Force realized China’s active military moves around Japan.

 

It is unclear why now. Foreign Ministry of China demanded Japan in July not repeating violation of China’s sea by a Japanese vessel affiliated to Marine Self-defense Force. The air violation in Nagasaki can be a counteraction against it. However, there is speculations in Japan about the intention of China. They include China’s frustration on security policies of Fumio Kishida administration, such as increasing defense budget or integration with the force of United States, closer tie with the Philippines or enhancement of relationship with NATO.

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