Japan Scrambled Fighter Jets 206 Times In Past 9 Months To Respond To Russian Planes

Japan scrambled fighter jets 206 times between April and December of last year to intercept Russian planes approaching its airspace, the Japanese Defense Ministry said Saturday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd January, 2021) Japan scrambled fighter jets 206 times between April and December of last year to intercept Russian planes approaching its airspace, the Japanese Defense Ministry said Saturday.

Russian jets accounted for less than a half of the total 544 alerts. The Joint Chiefs of Staff estimated that Chinese jets were the reason for 331 alerts.

The remaining seven planes were not identified.

The number of foreign aircraft sightings in what Japan perceives as its airspace went down by 198 to 742 from the year before.

The Russian Defense Ministry says Russian military planes follow international guidelines while on a mission. The country's long-haul aviation patrols the neutral waters of the Arctic, North Atlantic, Pacific as well as the Black and Baltic seas.