Japan sees big rise in scrambles against Chinese aircraft
Kosuke Takahashi, Tokyo and James Hardy, London - IHS Jane's Defence Weekly
09 April 2014
Intercepts of Chinese aircraft by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) increased by 36% in fiscal year 2013 (FY 2013).
The Joint Staff Office (JSO) of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 9 April that JASDF aircraft had scrambled to intercept Chinese aircraft a record 415 times in FY 2013, up from 306 times in FY 2012.
The increase coincides with China's declaration on 23 November 2013 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.
The JSO statement said Japan scrambled fighters against Chinese aircraft 138 times in the October-December 2013 period and 128 times in the January-March 2014 period.
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