Japan scrambles jets for drone near disputed islands

TOKYO —SOURCE

Japan scrambled fighter jets Monday after an unidentified drone flew near Tokyo-controlled islands at the centre of a bitter dispute with China, a defence ministry spokesman said.

It was the first reported incident of its kind.

Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force sent an unspecified number of jets to the area, the official said.

The drones did not enter Japanese airspace, the official said.

A second Japanese defense ministry official said the nationality of the drone was not clear, but added that it came from the northwest and and was last seen flying back in that direction.

China does have drones but when asked about the incident, foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said: “I am not aware of the situation.”

Russian Bombers Fly Over Japan

Japan’s defense ministry says jets scrambled after 2 Russian Tu-95 bombers entered Japanese airspace near Okinoshima island

This handout picture taken by Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force on February 7, 2013 shows a Russian fighter jet SU27 encroaching on Japan’s territorial airspace. (AFP/DEFENSE MINISTRY VIA JIJI PRESS)

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TOKYO: Japan scrambled fighter jets on Thursday after a pair of Russian bombers briefly intruded into the country’s airspace, officials said.

The two Tu-95 planes breached airspace near the isle of Okinoshima, off Fukuoka in southern Japan, for nearly two minutes shortly after midday (0300 GMT), a defence ministry spokesman said.

“A total of four F-2 planes from the Air Self-Defense Force scrambled against them,” the official said.

The Japanese foreign ministry said it filed a formal protest with the Russian embassy in Tokyo over the violation and urged them to investigate it.

In February, two Russian Su-27 fighters breached Japan’s airspace for just over a minute off the northern island of Hokkaido, Japanese officials said at that time, in what was reported to be the first such incident in five years.

Tokyo and Moscow never signed a peace treaty after World War II. Despite an important commercial relationship, they remain at loggerheads over the sovereignty of islands north of the Japanese main island of Hokkaido.

Japan is also at odds with China over the sovereignty of an island chain near Taiwan, in a particularly bitter dispute that has seen both sides scramble aircraft.

– AFP/gn