Tokyo scrambled fighter planes over the weekend against a Chinese military aircraft that patrolled Western Pacific waters on consecutive days, according to Japan's Defense Ministry.
Reports released on March 9 and 10 by the Joint Staff of Japan's Self-Defense Forces each carried an image of China's KQ-200 maritime patrol aircraft, which was photographed by Japanese pilots during its daytime sorties.
The turboprop support plane with anti-submarine and maritime surveillance capabilities transited the Miyako Strait—between the Japanese islands of Miyako and Okinawa—during its sorties, the Joint Staff reports said. The Chinese navy did not disclose the reasons behind the maneuvers, and China's Defense Ministry did not return emails seeking comment.
After loitering just south of Japan's southwest islands, the KQ-200 returned to the East China Sea via the same route. Newsweek's graphic recreates the aircraft's reported flight paths on both days, shown in yellow and red.
The Miyako Strait is a strategic outlet for the Chinese navy. It is one of the few international waterways—along with Luzon Strait between Taiwan and the Philippines—through which Beijing's forces can exit the first island chain and reach the expanse of the Pacific Ocean.
The two straits are similarly considered maritime choke points, access to which could be effectively controlled in wartime by U.S. treaty allies such as Tokyo and Manila or close security partners like Taipei. It means the waters of the Western Pacific are particularly important training grounds for American and allied forces, as well as their Chinese counterparts.
The KQ-200 was built by China's state-owned Shaanxi Aircraft Corporation and is flown by the People's Liberation Army's Naval Air Force. It was made for anti-submarine warfare and is distinguished from other similar Soviet-designed airframes by the radar dome under its nose and the magnetic anomaly detector protruding from its tail.
The same sea patrol plane is regularly spotted in the airspace around Taiwan, which classifies it as an anti-submarine variant of the China's Y-8 aircraft. Japan, on the other hand, calls it a Y-9, a reference to its upgraded airframe and hardware.
The KQ-200—roughly equivalent in function to the U.S. Navy's P-8 Poseidon—is equipped with submarine-hunting weapons including torpedoes and sonobuoys. It can stay in the air for up to 10 hours while scanning for underwater signals and frequencies.
Political ties between Beijing and Tokyo remain complex due to underlying historical and territorial tensions, as well as the broader rivalry between China and the United States. Japan hosts the largest number of forward-deployed American forces—roughly 50,000 military personnel—anywhere in the world outside of U.S. territory.
As in Washington, Tokyo's annual defense reports raise repeated concerns about China's military buildup, as well as its far-reaching territorial ambitions. The Communist Party's desire to one day control democratically governed Taiwan also has implications for Japan's economy and its strategic position in the region.
Last week, Japan said its Air Self-Defense Force was scrambled 21 times in February to intercept aircraft from China as well as Russia. The monthly total was down from 23 times in January.
On March 2, its Joint Staff released images of two Chinese warships—the Type 051A frigates Zhoushan and Jingzhou—sailing into the Western Pacific via the Miyako Strait.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
fairness meter
To Rate This Article
About the writer
John Feng is Newsweek's contributing editor for Asia based in Taichung, Taiwan. His focus is on East Asian politics. He ... Read more
