Japan scrambled fighters jets Thursday after China's navy carried out a large-scale drill through a strategic entryway into the Western Pacific between the islands of Miyako and Okinawa — part of Beijing's growing push to project its military clout farther into the Pacific.
The official Xinhua News Agency said fighters, bombers and early warning aircraft flew through the Miyako Strait northeast of Taiwan and into the Pacific. The aircraft then carried out drills with Chinese warships in the area to improve interoperability, Xinhua said.
Japan's Defense Ministry said a total of 13 aircraft had been spotted flying through the strait — the largest number of foreign planes Japan has scrambled jets for since such data first became available in 2003, Kyodo News reported. The aircraft did not violate Japanese airspace, the ministry said.