Chinese Fighter Aircraft Scrambled to Japan’s Self Defense Force Aircraft over East China Sea
compiled from Kyodo, Asahi Shimbun and NHK reporting
25 May 2014 by the editor
Su-27 fighter photographed by Ministry of Defense on May 24
Japan’s Defense Ministry announced two aircraft of its Defense Forces flying over East China Sea were approached by Chinese fighter aircraft up to tens of meters. The Ministry said the site of this unusual encounter took place at overlapping areas of Air Defense Identification Zones installed by Tokyo and Beijing respectively and .the Japanese aircraft did not violate Chinese airspace.
The Ministry said two Su-27 armed with white, or live, missiles approached to Maritime Self-Defense Force OP-3C, imagery information gathering aircraft around 1100hrs local and to Air Self Defense Force YS-11EB, electronic reconnaissance plane at around 1200 hrs on May 24. One of the Chinese fighters flew as close as 50 meters to OP-3C and 30 meters to YS-11EB.
Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera issued a comment that it was a dangerous act of flying by Chinese aircraft that might have led to an accidental trouble. Onodera also said the crew of Japanese planes could see live missiles under the wings of the Chinese fighters and feel ‘a certain tension’ to continue their flights. Tokyo has protested to Beijing through its diplomatic mission in Japan.
The two Japanese aircraft were flying to monitor an on-going naval exercise between Chinese and Russian navies.
Su-27s came from behind two Japanese aircraft respectively. Japanese Defense Ministry revealed that the Chinese did not transmit any radio warning.
In the mean time, the Chinese Defense Department said on May 25 that the Japanese military aircraft were trying to ‘monitor and interrupt’ Sino-Russo joint naval exercise and China dispatched its aircraft for identification and preventive measures as the Japanese aircraft had entered in Air Defence Identification Zone.■
