The Chinese and Russian militaries in 2024 conducted extensive flight operations near Japan and South Korea, which are United States allies in Northeast Asia, a map shows.
Newsweek has emailed both the Chinese and Russian defense ministries for comment.
Why It Matters
Japan forms part of the first island chain with Taiwan and the Philippines under a U.S. maritime containment strategy that was formulated during the Cold War. This blockade attempts to restrict both China’s and Russia’s access to the wider Western Pacific Ocean.
The U.S. has stationed forces in Japan and South Korea, serving as a deterrent to threats posed by the nuclear-armed China, Russia and North Korea. Beijing and Moscow have sent military aircraft and vessels near the U.S. allies for exercises and patrols frequently.
What To Know
In a report published on Thursday, the Japanese Defense Ministry announced that its air force was scrambled 704 times against foreign military aircraft that were approaching the nation’s airspace in the fiscal year 2024 period, which spans from April 1 to March 31.
This was an increase of 35 scrambles compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year. Among the targets of the scrambles, more than half of them—464 scrambles—were against Chinese military aircraft, while 237 scrambles were against the Russian military.
The remaining targets were classified as other countries, which the report did not identify.
According to a map attached to the report, most of the Chinese and Russian flights were carried out over the waters to the north, west, southwest, and south of Japan, covering the Philippine Sea, East China Sea, and Sea of Japan (known as the East Sea in South Korea).
Japanese Defense Ministry
Most of the intercepts occurred within the Japanese air defense identification zone, which begins where sovereign airspace ends and is a defined stretch of international airspace. It is established for the ready identification of all aircraft in the interest of national security.
However, two violations of Japan’s airspace were observed in August and September last year, which involved a Chinese Y-9 spy plane over the East China Sea and a Russian Il-38 maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare aircraft over the Sea of Japan, respectively.
Japan’s sovereignty extends to the airspace over its territorial sea that measures 12 nautical miles (13.8 miles) from its coastline, says the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which lays down a regime of law and order in the world’s oceans and seas.
MOD
Meanwhile, the number of scrambles against Chinese drones has increased sharply from eight cases to 23 cases, in which a total of 30 drones were intercepted by the Japanese air force.
What People Are Saying
The Japan Air Self-Defense Force said: “When an aircraft from an unidentified nation is detected by early warning surveillance and is suspected of violating Japanese airspace, it is the [Japan Air Self-Defense Force]’s mission to respond. The term ‘scramble’ refers to the emergency dispatch of aircraft against unidentified aircraft.”
Japan’s defense white paper 2024 said: “Amidst the most severe and complex security environment since the end of World War II, the Ministry of Defense (MOD) and the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) are committed to protecting the lives and peaceful livelihoods of Japanese people and defending Japan’s territorial land, waters and airspace to the end.”
What Happens Next
China and Russia are likely to continue military flights near Japan and South Korea. U.S. forces have encountered the Chinese and Russian militaries while operating in the Western Pacific Ocean, including a Russian aircraft low-pass flyby close to a U.S. aircraft carrier.