TOKYO —
Japan scrambled fighter jets Thursday to head off a number of Chinese
military planes near islands at the center of a territorial dispute,
Japanese media said.The Chinese planes were spotted on Japanese military radar north of the Japanese-controlled Senkaku islands, known as the Diaoyus in China, the Fuji TV network reported, quoting Japanese government officials.
They did not violate territorial airspace over the islands but flew inside Japan’s so-called air defense identification zone, the report said.
The Japanese defense ministry press office did not confirm the report.
The Chinese planes were gone when F-15 jet fighters from an airbase on Japan’s main Okinawan island reached the area, the report said, adding the Chinese flights continued until about 5 p.m.
Chinese government ships and planes have been seen off the disputed islands numerous times since Japan nationalised them in September, sometimes within the 12 nautical-mile territorial zone.
The coastguard said Thursday evening they were not aware of any Chinese military aircraft in the area.
On Wednesday, the conservative Sankei Shimbun reported that the number of Chinese military planes nearing Japanese territory had increased since Japan nationalised the islands.
The paper said Japan’s air force had scrambled fighter jets to intercept Chinese military aircraft numerous times over the past few months. Defense officials said they could not confirm the report.
F-15s were sent airborne to head off Chinese state-owned—but not military—planes four times in December, including an occasion when Japanese airspace was breached, the defense ministry has said.
They were also mobilized once last week, it said.
Japan is Friday expected to approve a huge stimulus package aimed at breathing life into its flagging economy.
Around 180 billion yen of the total 20 trillion yen set to be announced is expected to be allocated to military spending.
A defense ministry spokesman told AFP the cash would be used to buy missiles, helicopters and to refurbish fighter jets to cope with the changing security environment in the region.
.japantoday.com
11/1/13
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Le Japon met en garde contre l'entrée de sous-marin dans sa zone maritime.....
ReplyDeleteLe premier ministre japonais, Shinzo Abe, a laissé entendre mardi 14 mai qu'une intervention militaire pourrait être déclenchée si des sous-marins étrangers pénétraient dans les eaux territoriales de l'archipel. Le ministère de la défense avait annoncé plus tôt avoir repéré un bâtiment de ce type à proximité des eaux territoriales d'une des îles d'Okinawa (sud du Japon), entre dimanche soir et lundi matin. Le gouvernement n'a toutefois pas voulu confirmer les informations des médias selon lesquelles il s'agirait d'un sous-marin chinois.
"Ce sont des actes graves", a souligné le chef du gouvernement, sans pour autant préciser les conditions d'une éventuelle intervention. Ses mots suggèrent que le ministre de la défense pourrait le cas échéant ordonner des actions par les Forces d'autodéfense du Japon.
L'incident au large de l'île de Kume, dans l'archipel d'Okinawa, est intervenu alors que trois navires du gouvernement chinois ont passé une demi-journée lundi dans les eaux territoriales au large des îles Senkaku, contrôlées par le Japon mais revendiquées par la Chine sous la dénomination Diaoyu.
TENSIONS GRANDISSANTES
Pékin envoie régulièrement des navires, mais aussi ponctuellement des avions, autour de cet archipel inhabité, depuis que l'Etat nippon a nationalisé en septembre trois de ses cinq îles en les achetant à leur propriétaire privé japonais. Face à ce regain de tensions, Tokyo a annoncé récemment la constitution d'une force spéciale de 600 hommes et 12 navires pour surveiller et protéger les îles Senkaku, situées à 200 km au nord-est des côtes de Taïwan, qui les revendique également, et 400 km à l'ouest d'Okinawa.
Outre sa position stratégique, l'archipel recèlerait des ressources énergétiques dans ses fonds marins. Fin février, le premier ministre Shinzo Abe avait prévenu que le Japon ne pouvait "pas tolérer quelque défi que ce soit, maintenant ou à l'avenir" à propos de la souveraineté de son pays sur ces îles. Il a déjà prévenu que le Japon expulserait "par la force" tout éventuel débarquement chinois sur les Senkaku.
http://www.lemonde.fr/japon/article/2013/05/15/le-japon-met-en-garde-contre-l-entree-de-sous-marin-dans-sa-zone-maritime_3223759_1492975.html#xtor=RSS-3208
15/5/13
Japan scrambles fighters against Chinese plane in East China Sea...
ReplyDeleteJapan scrambled fighter jets on Wednesday after a Chinese Y-8 early warning aircraft flew through international air space between Okinawa and the smaller Miyako Island, south of Japan.
This is another sign that the US policy of “pivot to Asia” to militarily contain China has created an explosive situation that could rapidly lead to military conflict. The incident coincided with a patrol by four newly-established “Chinese Coast Guard” ships near the disputed Diaoyu/Senkaku islands.
Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters it was the first time a Chinese military plane had flown through the Okinawa island chain, which is held by Japan, on its way to the Pacific. “We see it as a sign of China’s ever-growing maritime advance,” he said. Chinese naval vessels had repeatedly sailed through water passages in the same area in recent years for training in the West Pacific.
The region is highly strategic. Just last week, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the Miyako Island to inspect a radar base. The Japanese media speculated that the Chinese Y-8 plane was there to conduct electronic surveillance.
Though it was clear that the Y-8 overflight was a provocative action inflaming tensions in the region, the Chinese defence ministry defended its action, claiming that it has “freedom of flight” in international air space. The argument was clearly modelled on America’s, which has justified its routine surveillance of Chinese coastlines on the grounds of “freedom of navigation” outside territorial waters, which extend only 12 nautical miles from a country’s coastline.
Sino-Japanese tensions are fostered by the Obama administration’s decision to “pivot” to Asia by expanding America’s regional military presence and strengthening alliances, including with Japan, the Philippines and Australia to encircle China. Washington is pressuring China over numerous flashpoints, such as the East and the South China seas, as well as North Korea.....http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/07/26/japa-j26.html
26/7/13