China violates Japanese airspace

The significance of the incursion into Japanese airspace near Nagasaki on Monday by a Chinese Y-9 intelligence-gathering aircraft is evident from the fact that, according to Tokyo officials, it is the first such violation since records began in 1958. Chinese warships regularly sail provocatively close to Japanese islands in the East China Sea near Okinawa, often appearing every day for months, particularly around the Senkaku islands, which Beijing calls Diaoyu and claims belong to China.

But the air intrusion, which adds Japan to the list of countries being targeted by Chinese regional skulduggery, is certain to raise already-high tensions in the Asia-Pacific over Beijing’s aggression.

US ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, who is expected to have a role in a Kamala Harris administration if she wins in November, was right when he wrote on Monday: “There’s little ‘love thy neighbour’ in China’s ‘good neighbour’ policy … A Chinese spy plane violating Japanese airspace, Chinese coast guard cutters repeatedly ramming and firing water cannons at Philippine ships, and a Chinese fighter dropping flares at an Australian helicopter tell the true story.”

Mr Emanuel’s reference to Australia was to the incident in May when a Chinese fighter jet dropped flares dangerously close to an RAN Seahawk helicopter from HMAS Hobart taking part in a UN mission in the Yellow Sea to enforce sanctions against North Korea. Defence Minister Richard Marles described the Chinese action as “very serious” and “completely unacceptable”.

Alarm across the region also is increasing over Chinese aggression targeted at Philippine ships inside Philippine waters, some close to islands that are clearly within The Philippines but are caught up in Beijing’s bogus and illegal claim to sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea.

The provocative incursion into Japan’s airspace shows how wrong the idea has been that Beijing will limit its bullyboy tactics to small and relatively vulnerable countries.

As Philippines National Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said on Tuesday: “China is the biggest disrupter of the peace in the region.”