Chinese Checkers: JASDF Fighter Intercepts Draw Ire

Japan's Air Self Defense Forces have been really busy this year. It is reported that the JASDF has had to scramble fighters 407 times between April 1st and September 30th to intercept Chinese warplanes encroaching on Japanese Air Space. This is double the amount of fighter intercepts for the year of 2015. In a sense of irony, this has drawn cries of foul from Beijing who accuse Japan's pilots of recklessly endangering their pilots and interfering with their activities in or near disputed air space and territorial waters. Activities of which has included the militarization of international airspace and the building of artificial islands for military purposes that The Hague has since ruled unlawful. Despite the ruling, Beijing refuses to recognize it and continues to provoke and complain when someone call them on it. This is like that scene in the film Goodfellah's where Joe Pesci's character kicks Billy Batts to a bloody pulp then has the nerve to complain about what Batts did to his shoes. Well Japan is far from being a bloody pulp and it is up to the JASDF to make sure the PRC's warplanes are met to discourage any hostile action or mistaken intention that could start a war nobody wants. 

Earlier this year, several nations took the PRC to court at The Hague which as fore mentioned above has since ruled against the PRC. We have written about this many times and still do not understand why such provocations are taking place. But it is what it is and it's up to both the JASDF and the US Navy to give the PRC a pause and somehow keep the peace. We don't expect this situation to go away anytime soon and things are just getting increasingly dangerous for the pilots of both China and Japan. There have been incidents in the Miyako Strait and near Okinawa where JASDF fighters have had to turn on their electronic counter measures. In an article posted on CNN Col. Wu Qian, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense said "Such high-frequency reconnaissance against China not only disturbs the routine training of the Chinese military but also undermines the security interests of China." Japan's Defense Ministry has responded by saying: "It has not taken any provocative actions against Chinese military planes nor endangered them as claimed by the spokesman of the Chinese Defense Ministry."

To be continued....