The rattle of Okinawa: Chinese drones probe Japan's defences
They came without warning, flying over waters near
Japan last week: two Chinese drones, one a reconnaissance model and the other a sleek attack drone.
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For Tokyo, it was not just a test of its air defences but a preview of the future, analysts say, as Beijing seeks to normalise its military presence in the region while testing Japan's response.
Last Wednesday, two Chinese drones – a BZK-005 reconnaissance model and, for the first time, a Chengdu GJ-2 reconnaissance and attack drone – were tracked slipping through the airspace between Okinawa and Miyako Island, before entering the Pacific.
The Japan Air Self-Defence Force scrambled fighter jets to shadow the drones, which flew south of Okinawa towards Amami Oshima before reversing course and retreating to the
East China Sea . The drones never breached Japanese territorial airspace, but their presence was enough to stir concern in Tokyo.
A BZK-005E model reconnaissance drone is seen at the Zhuhai Airshow in 2018. Photo: Dickson Lee
'We will continue to monitor developments in the airspace surrounding Japan with strong interest and will take all possible measures to conduct surveillance,' a spokesman for the Defence Ministry's Joint Staff Office told reporters.
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