China is prepared to send its fighter planes to the disputed area off the Japanese coast if Tokyo again scrambles its jets and challenges Chinese surveillance activities, Chinese media reported on Saturday.
“China needs to warn against Japan’s attempt to intercept, or it will result in a response from China, such as sending the air force to the area and reserving the right to take further actions,” the state-controlled paper said.
The article was in response to Japan’s despatching eight F-15 fighter jets soon after a surveillance plane owned by China’s Ocean administration flew over the Japan-controlled Diaoyu islands in East China Sea, islands that are also being claimed by China and are known as Senkaku in the country.
“It is necessary to speed up this action and make the patrol a regular move,” said the article, which may have been vetted by senior Communist Party officials.
