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By Ryan Chan
China News Reporter
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Japanese fighter jets were scrambled on Saturday as two drones—presumed to be Chinese—were recorded circumnavigating the self-ruled island of Taiwan via a strategic waterway for the first time.
Tokyo's Defense Ministry reported the movement of the drones and a Chinese Y-9 intelligence gathering plane within Japan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ), an area of international airspace where tracking and identification of aircraft is required for national security purposes.
According to the Japanese report, the two drones flew in opposite directions over the waters between Taiwan and Yonaguni— Japan's westernmost island—on Saturday afternoon. The report did not identify the types of the drones.
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The less than 70-mile-wide "Yonaguni gap" located east of Taiwan, connects the East China Sea to the north and the Philippine Sea to the south. Both China and its quasi-ally Russia have sent military aircraft, including drones, and vessels to the waterway before.
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The dual-encirclement flight was also confirmed by Taiwan's defense ministry. A total of 36 Chinese military aircraft were detected around the island in the 24 hours to 6 a.m. on Sunday, with 31 of them, including the two drones, crossing the Taiwan Strait.
China views Taiwan as a breakaway province and has refused to rule out the use of force to unify Taipei with the mainland. It has also increased military activity near the island, which Japan and the United States have repeatedly raised concerns about.
The Chinese Y-9 plane circled the waters east of Taiwan and south of Yonaguni after taking off from eastern China, transiting the Miyako Strait twice near Taiwan.
The strait lies between the two southwestern Japanese islands of Miyako and Okinawa. The waterway is under close surveillance by Japan as it is an important gateway for the Chinese military in the event of deployment to the Philippine Sea and the wider Pacific Ocean.
Newsweek's map shows the Chinese drones' flight paths in two colors. The track shown in red is provided by Taiwan's defense ministry and the Japanese military's tracks are shown in dark red. The flight path of the Chinese Y-9 plane, meanwhile, is displayed in pink.
The number of Chinese military aircraft operating around Taiwan in the subsequent 24-hour period dropped to nine, with six crossing the Taiwan Strait. The island's military said on Monday that it deployed aircraft, vessels and missile systems in response.
Taiwan tracked 437 Chinese military aircraft operating east of the median line of the Taiwan Strait in July, according to a database maintained by the PLATracker website. It is the second-highest monthly number on record, with the highest being 446 aircraft in August 2022.
Newsweek has contacted the Chinese defense ministry for comment by email.
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