Border Tensions Continue Between China And Japan

A Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-2 fighter jet takes off during the U.S-Japan biennial joint bilateral field-training exercise Keen Sword 2013 at Misawa air base in Aomori prefecture on Nov. 5, 2012. Reuters

Angry Skies: Japanese Jets Scramble as Tensions With China Escalate -- Time

Rival territorial claims see worrying rise in antagonistic air and sea maneuvers

The skies over Okinawa are often perilous, with sudden squalls complicating air traffic over this subtropical Japanese outpost. In recent months, the treacherous airspace has gotten even busier, with Japanese fighter jets based in Naha, the capital of Okinawa prefecture, scrambling in record numbers as tensions between China and Japan spiral over a scattering of disputed islands. The uninhabited outcroppings in the East China Sea, called the Senkaku in Japanese and the Diaoyu in Chinese, are currently administered by Japan but China maintains historic claims to them.

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More News On Border Tensions Continuing Between China And Japan

Two Chinese ships enter disputed waters: Japan -- FOX News/AFP
Japan Boosts Security Near Isles in China Dispute -- AP
China warns Japan against stationing workers on disputed isles -- Reuters
China urges U.S. to abide by neutrality on Diaoyu islands -- Xinhuanet
Does China Have a Good Case in Territorial Disputes? -- China Digital Times

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China Sparks A Dangerous Drone Arms Race In Asia

China's Wing Loong drone

China Sparks A Dangerous Drone Arms Race in Asia -- Shawn Brimley, Ben Fitzgerald, And Ely Ratner, Foreign Policy

How China sparked a dangerous unmanned arms race.

It's now been a year since Japan's previously ruling liberal government purchased three of the Senkaku Islands to prevent a nationalist and provocative Tokyo mayor from doing so himself. The move was designed to dodge a potential crisis with China, which claims "indisputable sovereignty" over the islands it calls the Diaoyus.

Disregarding the Japanese government's intent, Beijing has reacted to the "nationalization" of the islands by flooding the surrounding waters and airspace with Chinese vessels in an effort to undermine Japan's de facto administration, which has persisted since the reversion of Okinawa from American control in 1971. Chinese incursions have become so frequent that the Japanese Air Self-Defense Forces (JASDF) are now scrambling jet fighters on a near-daily basis in response.

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My Comment: The Chinese originally denied that the drone that was spotted near the disputed territories belonged to them .... since then the Chinese have admitted that the drone in question was theirs. In response .... Japan has now made it very clear that they are now considering options to shoot down any drone that approaches and infringes into their territory .... in short .... they are telling the Chinese that if this happens again they will shoot down their drone. One can only imagine how tense the region will become if such an event does happen.

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