Japan says it has spotted PLA aircraft, spy drones and warships, including a supply ship that could support the Liaoning aircraft carrier, in recent days as Tokyo and Washington started drills focused on a potential Taiwan contingency.
Three People’s Liberation Army military aircraft – two drones and a reconnaissance plane – flew through international airspace between Japanese islands into the Pacific before heading back towards mainland China on Monday, prompting Japan to scramble fighter jets, the Joint Staff Office of Japan’s defence ministry reported the same day.
The aircraft included a BZK-005 reconnaissance drone and a Y-9 intelligence-gathering aircraft, which flew in from the East China Sea, passed through the Miyako Strait between Okinawa’s main island and Miyako Island, and continued into the Pacific before returning towards mainland China, the Joint Staff Office said in a post.
In addition, a TB-001 reconnaissance and attack drone passed between Yonaguni Island and Taiwan, flew northeast as far as waters off Amami Oshima, then turned back and passed through the Miyako Strait towards mainland China, the post said.
The aircraft movements coincided with Monday’s start of “Keen Sword”, a biennial joint military exercise between Japan and the United States running until October 29 across multiple locations in Japan. The exercise will involve about 45,000 Japanese Self-Defence Forces personnel and 12,000 US troops, making it one of the biggest drills ever conducted by the two allies.