Latest news with #BZK-005
Miami Herald
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
US Ally Gives Military Shootdown Authorization Against Chinese Drones
The Japanese government has authorized its military to use force to bring down unmanned aerial aircraft that enter the country's airspace, a policy change with implications for the Japan Self-Defense Forces' responses to the uptick in Chinese drone activity around its territory. In late June, the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba authorized the shootdown, permitted even in the absence of an immediate threat to life, according to Japan's Sankei Shimbun newspaper. Newsweek has contacted the Japanese prime minister's office and the Chinese Defense Ministry for comment via email. Japan, a key U.S. treaty ally, is evolving its security policies to reflect the changing landscape of modern warfare, in particular the increasingly sophisticated uncrewed platforms developed by neighboring China. While the approach is unlikely to affect the defense of Japan's main islands, it leaves open the possibility of an armed clash around the disputed Senkaku or Diaoyu islands in the East China Sea, which Tokyo controls and Beijing claims. Under a previous legal framework, Japan's air force pilots were permitted to take "necessary measures" against unmanned aircraft entering Japanese airspace but were not allowed to fire upon drones that did not pose a direct threat to human life. An expanded interpretation of the policy was first announced in February 2023 but only formally adopted by Ishiba's Cabinet last month, the Sankei Shimbun reported. Jin Matsubara, an independent lawmaker representing a district in Tokyo, received confirmation of the policy shift in response to a written inquiry to the government. In the fiscal year 2024, which concluded at the end of March, Japan's air force jets were scrambled 704 times to intercept Chinese and Russian aircraft approaching its airspace, according to a Japanese Defense Ministry report. Last year, 30 Chinese unmanned aerial vehicles were detected operating in Japan's air defense identification zone, or ADIZ, data showed. An ADIZ is a buffer zone that extends beyond sovereign airspace, used to identify nearby civilian and military aircraft. Japan's air force has intercepted 11 Chinese drones since the fiscal year 2025 began in April, according to reports released by the Joint Staff Office of Japan's Defense Ministry. All the activity was detected around Japan's southwestern islands and matched movements reported in Taiwan's air defense zone by the island's Defense Ministry. Photos published by the Joint Staff Office showed at least three Chinese drone types: the BZK-005, TB-001 and Wing Loong 2 reconnaissance platforms. Last August, Japan said a crewed Chinese intelligence-gathering plane had violated the airspace above an islet near its southernmost main island of Kyushu. China's Foreign Ministry at the time said the intrusion was unintentional but did not apologize publicly. Elsewhere in the East China Sea, however, both sides have accused the other of breaching claimed sovereign airspace above the Senkaku island group, which is covered under the U.S.-Japan security treaty. Additionally, Tokyo and Beijing have recently feuded over Chinese gas exploration activities in shared waters. Jin Matsubara, a Japanese lawmaker, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on June 30: "With the rapid changes in security, particularly in military matters, we must constantly update our efforts." Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said on June 25: "China upholds and remains committed to the comprehensive and effective implementation of the principled consensus on the East China Sea issue. We hope Japan will work in the same direction with China and make an effort to resume the intergovernmental negotiation between the two countries at an early date." Japan's military is developing ground-based anti-drone technology that includes direct energy weapons, or lasers. In the air, its air force jets must rely on missiles and guns to engage drones that breach its sovereign airspace. To date, none of the Chinese drones detected near Japanese territory has been accused of entering Japan's airspace. The policy change could nonetheless add to existing friction between the two governments. Related Articles US Ally Plans Naval Power Increase Amid China Threat on Disputed TerritoryWoman Spends 71 Years Thinking She's an Only Child, Then She Gets an EmailJapan Flights Cancelled Amid Impact of Manga Doomsday PredictionUS Allies Plan To Flex Aircraft Carrier Muscles Near China 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
South China Morning Post
04-03-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
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. Advertisement 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.
Cedar News
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Cedar News
For the first time, Japan confirmed a Chinese GJ-2 reconnaissance/attakdrone
Join our Telegram For the first time, Japan confirmed a Chinese GJ-2 reconnaissance/attack drone operating near Okinawa, alongside a BZK-005 reconnaissance drone. Both flew between Okinawa and Miyako Island into the Pacific before returning. Japanese F-15 jets were scrambled in response.
