Record number of Japanese fighter jets scrambled

(Baonghean.vn)- According to statistics from the Japanese Government on April 13, the number of fighter jets dispatched by the country's air force to chase away foreign fighter jets reached a record high in the year to March 31, amid escalating Chinese military activities in and around the East China Sea.

Japanese F-15J fighter jet. Photo: JASDF

According to the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), the number of emergency fighter jets scrambled 1,168 times in the 12-month period, up from 873 in the same period last year. This figure also surpassed the record of 944 in 1984. Of the 1,168, 851 were to respond to Chinese aircraft operating near Japanese airspace, up 280 times from the same period last year.

Tokyo fears that Beijing’s surveillance of Japanese air defenses is a sign of China’s intention to expand its influence in the disputed East China Sea and the Western Pacific. Japan currently controls a chain of islands stretching 1,400 square kilometers from the southern mainland to Taiwan.

Meanwhile, the number of Japanese aircraft taking off to counter Russian aircraft also increased by 4.5%, to 301 times./.

Lan Ha

(According to Reuters)