An in-flight view of a Y-8CB SIGINT aircraft that was intercepted by the JASDF over the East China Sea on 23 November 2013. (Japanese Ministry of Defence)
Japan reports big increase in air scrambles in late 2013
Kosuke Takahashi, Tokyo - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
21 January 2014
Intercepts of Chinese aircraft by the Japan Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF) increased dramatically from October to December 2013.
The Joint Staff Office of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on 21 January said Japan scrambled fighter aircraft 138 times against Chinese aircraft in the last three months of 2013, up from 80 times in the July-September period and 69 times in the April-June period of the same year.
The increase coincides with China's declaration on 23 November of an Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea that overlaps with that of Japan and South Korea and also covers the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu islands.
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