China again sent military drones Friday to circle Taiwan, a self-ruled island it considers a breakaway province, in a show of force, alerting Japan, a U.S. security ally.
Japan’s Defense Ministry said two suspected Chinese drones flew over the waters between the country’s westernmost island of Yonaguni and Taiwan. The Yonaguni Gap waterway, less than 110 kilometers wide, is increasingly used by the Chinese military for transits and operations.
Tokyo regularly reports movements of foreign military aircraft in or near its air defense identification zone (ADIZ), which borders Taiwan’s to the west. This is an area of international airspace where tracking and identifying aircraft is necessary for national security purposes.
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China continues to pressure Taiwan, a security partner of Washington, by deploying military aircraft and warships around the island daily to deter separatism. Beijing considers Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te and his ruling Democratic Progressive Party to be “separatists.”
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan in Beijing on Wednesday that Taiwan independence poses the “greatest threat” to regional stability. Sullivan stressed the need to “preserve peace and stability” across the Taiwan Strait.
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One of the Chinese drones transited southward on Friday as it entered the “Yonaguni Trench” from the East China Sea in the north and reached the Philippine Sea in the south. The other drone flew in the opposite direction as it crossed the waterway to the north, according to the Japanese report.
In response to the Chinese drone flights, the Japanese Air Force scrambled fighter jets assigned to the Southwest Air Defense Command. The report did not identify the types of drones.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry confirmed Saturday that Chinese drones had flown over the island’s east coast the day before. A total of 30 Chinese military aircraft, including two drones, flew over the island in the 24 hours leading up to 6 a.m. Saturday.
On Friday night, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said that 20 Chinese military aircraft, including J-16 fighter jets and KJ-500 airborne early warning and control aircraft, were detected starting at 4:30 p.m., and 14 of them approached Taiwan’s northern, central, southwest and eastern airspace.
NewsweekThe map of Taiwan shows the flight paths of Chinese drones in two colors. The red path is provided by Taiwan’s Defense Ministry, and the Japanese military’s paths are shown in dark red. China’s Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
The drones took off from China’s southeast coast and flew north and south across the 110-mile-wide Taiwan Strait, according to Taiwan’s Defense Ministry. They approached Orchid Island, off Taiwan’s southeast coast, at a distance of 33 nautical miles (38 miles).
The Chinese military is sending its drones off the east coast of Taiwan, to test the defense capabilities of the island and Japan. On August 23, two Chinese drones were spotted crossing the “Yonaguni Gap” heading north, but their types have not been identified by the Japanese and Taiwanese militaries.
