Japan scrambles fighter jets after detecting suspected Chinese drone

ISTANBUL

Japan on Tuesday said it scrambled fighter jets after detecting a drone, suspected to be Chinese, near its westernmost island of Yonaguni.

"A suspected Chinese drone passed between Yonaguni Island and Taiwan" on Monday, the Japanese Defense Ministry said on the US social media company X.

In response, southwestern Air Defense Force fighter jets "were scrambled" on an emergency basis to intercept it, the ministry added.

China has yet to comment on the Japanese claims.

On Monday, Beijing protested Japan’s reported plan to deploy missiles on Yonaguni island.

Japan’s Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi visited the Yonaguni Island in Okinawa Prefecture on Sunday, where Japan intends to station a unit of medium-range, surface-to-air missiles, according to the Kyodo news agency.

During the trip to the island, he said plans to deploy missiles on Yonaguni, about 110 kilometers (68.3 miles) from Taiwan, would proceed, according to Bloomberg News.

He told a news conference Tuesday that the same type of weapon has already been deployed across Japan, brushing off China's claims.

The weapons "are for national security," said Koizuma.