Posted on 09/09/2013 7:17:43 PM PDT by TexGrill
Japan scrambled fighter jets Monday after an unidentified drone flew near a small island chain controlled by Tokyo that is at the center of a bitter territorial dispute with China.
Japan's Air Self-Defense Force sent an unspecified number of jets to the area of the Senkaku Islands, a Defense Ministry official told Agence France Presse in Tokyo.
The ministry said it did not know the origin or nationality of the unmanned aircraft, which did not enter Japanese airspace.
China has an advanced drone program, according to a report in June from the congressionally chartered U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.
In particular, China’s “white hull” navy — consisting of unarmed or lightly armed vessels from its coast guard, fisheries agency and other government departments — has announced it is deploying drones.
Beijing’s “maritime law enforcement agencies are integrating [drones] into their operations,” notes the commission’s report.
Last year, the official Chinese press reported that the State Oceanic Administration was building “land-based infrastructure to support the increased usage of [drones] for maritime surveillance via remote sensing,” the report says.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
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