Japan Scrambles Fighters 30 Times to Repel Chinese

www.foxnews.com ^ | Wednesday, November 09, 2005

[Esther Ruth]

Japan Scrambles Fighters 30 Times to Repel Chinese

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

TOKYO — Japanese fighter jets have been scrambled 30 times to turn away Chinese planes approaching Japan's airspace in the last six months, more than twice the 13 times in the same period last year, officials said Wednesday.

The increased defensive posture reflects the growing tensions between Japan and China, which are squabbling over interpretations of their wartime past, undersea gas deposits, and ownership of East China Sea islands.

An Air Self Defense Force spokesman said Japan's fighter jets had scrambled 30 times in response to what were believed to be Chinese military planes in the six months from April to September. Japan's fiscal year starts in April.

The spokesman, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with agency policy, added that fighter jets also have been deployed since October, but declined to say how many times.

That would surpass the record-high 30 scramblings in response to Chinese planes in all of 1998. Japan began keeping track of the number of fighter jet mobilizations against specified countries in 1995.

Another official of the Air Self Defense Force declined to comment on the types of Chinese planes or what they were doing. He said there have been no major confrontations between Japanese fighter jets and foreign military planes in 2005.

[son of caesar]

actually, it is a well known fact that russia is inviting chinese people to siberia to exploit it economically. siberia is well stocked with chinese companies and people. if im not mistaken, russia is also allowing china to buy large tracts of land in siberia.

[Dead Corpse]

That, and a long standing hatred between the Chinese and the Japanese.

[Lancer_N3502A]

No amphibs yet, but look what we did in WW2. Take a Panamax freighter and they could turn it into a troopship in 3 months.

[Gay State Conservative]

The West (and the world) will soon regret the day that two-thirds of the merchandise at Wal Mart,Best Buy and Radio Shack came to say "Made in China" on it.

Wasn't it Lenin who said that "the capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them"...?

[Gay State Conservative]

and a long standing hatred between the Chinese and the Japanese.

There's been a long standing hatred between the Chinese and just about everyone for the last 56 years...except,maybe,the North Koreans and the North Vietnamese.

[son of caesar]

btw, an often overlooked thing is the amt of food at your local supermarket that is also coming from china. start checking labels and you will see this happening more and more. i was shocked, i saw the cardboard box said made in china for a yogurt drink, so i asked the stocker person who told me that they are told to remove the shipping boxes right away so no one sees the made in china label. he then told me alot of food nowadays comes from china. now i have to check every label on my purchases as i have no desire to ingest some mammalian ingredient i have no paid for.

[captain_dave]

All this talk of China expanding into the Pacific misses two important points:

China has no amphibious military capability and no aircraft carriers to provide air cover for an invasion. They can't even successfully invade Taiwan.

China is suffering from dissent and riots at home. What they can do is cause a lot of trouble.

[Holicheese]

Remember, Monster Island is just off shore. If they turn off the lazer fence, look out.
Gamara, Godzilla, Rhodan....

[Durus]

I'm more concerned with with our country becoming China politically then militarily.

[cynicom]

Chinese do have a score to settle with the Japanese and one day they will.

[conservativewasp]

China does not have the ability to invade foreign nations. They will be unable to land troops in sufficient quantity, they will be unable to resupply those troops. Their ships and subs will disappear in the vast open ocean (American subs guarantee that). Their jets are vulnerable operating close to the mainland, forget about 1000 miles out (American carriers guarantee that). Are they a problem? Yes. Do they have the kind of reach and the overpowering force that 1930's Japan did? No way. Do they wish to achieve that kind of power? Hell yes. We should stop buying their crap and end ALL technology transfers.

[cynicom]

Invade for resources, no. China has started a program to neutralize their rear area from Japan to Australia.

[conservativewasp]

I just caught your post, you are correct. China cannot do that which is feared. Unrest at home should be encouraged. The easy way is to stop buying their crap and stop supplying technology!

[IGOTMINE]

Disagree.

The Chinese will head north into Siberia.

[conservativewasp]

The North Vietnamese hate them too. Even fought a war in the 70's, as I recall.

[ClearCase_guy]

I completely agree. China needs to be watched because they can cause troubles, but they are not a real naval threat and cannot possibly expand into the Pacific. If they expand to the West, they have to fight India. If they expand into Siberia, they'll face Russia (not too scary as a nation any more, but fighting in Siberia is certainly scary).

China is in trouble. An economic stumble would increase their domestic difficulties, and they have no good options for military action to divert the peasants' attention.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

Communism was not defeated in 1989 - 90- 91 with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union, it only has taken on a new face and it only passed the baton onto China, and it's a new chapter in the battle with Communism.
The BIG RED MENACE is still among us.

[Lancer_N3502A]

I love a good thread.

I'm not suggesting China is gonna move tomorrow, they don't think that way. They're purely long term.

But...sometime down the road, when we got a Jimah Carter or Clinton in the office they might. And they're industrial/ship building capacity is enough to convert what ever they need in short order to make it all happen.

[babyface00]

The easy way is to stop buying their crap

I have a hard time deciding what to buy. If you buy Chinese, you're helping support a country that is a potential danger. If you buy American, chances are you're supporting a union which is at least as dangerous to the Republic.

If you don't buy either, there isn't much left to buy.

Note, I have nothing against unionization per se, but the current environment, where unions are essentially fund raising arms of the DNC who happen to occassionally pretend to represent their constuents in negotiations, is as dangerous and the threat more immediate, IMHO, to the United States than any from China.

[Brilliant]

If they have a score to settle, then it's only because they are living in the past.

The Chinese are also belligerant toward the US. What is the score they are trying to settle with us? It wasn't that long ago that China attacked India.

To me, it seems that the Chinese economic and technological expertise is growing a lot faster than their maturity.