Japan Scrambles Jets After China Flies Drone Near Island Close to Taiwan

Japan Scrambles Jets After China Flies Drone Near Island Close to Taiwan

Japanese officials report they recently scrambled aircraft after detecting a suspected Chinese drone near its southern island of Yonaguni, an island close to Taiwan.

On Sunday, Chinese coast guard vessels spent several hours in Japan’s territorial waters around the disputed Senkaku Islands, known as the Diaoyu in China and a frequent flashpoint, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said.

The incidents came amid escalating tension between the neighbors over remarks by Japan’s staunchly conservative new leader, who suggested Tokyo could intervene militarily in any hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan.

That “staunchly conservative” leader is the new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Takaichi was featured here just a few weeks ago after she had a very warm and productive series of meetings with President Donald Trump, during which they reached agreements on aid to the U.S. in shipbuilding and access to critical minerals.

What did Takachi say to trigger the drama? She boldly grasped the electrified third rail of Asian geopolitics and said…Japan would be willing to defend Taiwan from Communist China.

Speaking to a parliamentary committee, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Nov. 7. that a Chinese naval blockade or other action against Taiwan could be grounds for a Japanese military response.

“If it involves the use of warships and military actions, it could by all means become a survival-threatening situation,” she said.

Her comments were stronger than those of her predecessors. Previous prime ministers have expressed concern about China’s threat to Taiwan but haven’t publicly said how Japan would respond.

Takaichi recently said that the Chinese mainland’s “use of force on Taiwan” could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan and implied the possibility of armed intervention in the Taiwan Strait.https://t.co/Ie4PvVnpdI

— CGTN America (@cgtnamerica) November 18, 2025

The Chinese swooning began almost immediately. One of the key Chinese diplomats in Japan texted a fairly ominous message directed at the Japanese Prime Minister.

Japan criticised a Chinese diplomat on Monday (Nov 10) for “extremely inappropriate” remarks seemingly directed at Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, after she suggested that Tokyo could take military action if Beijing attacked neighbouring Taiwan.

In a post on X on Saturday, China’s Consul General in Osaka, Xue Jian, shared a news article about Takaichi’s remarks about Taiwan and commented: “The dirty neck that sticks itself in must be cut off.” The post was later deleted.

In response to PM Takaichi saying the quiet part out loud that Japan would defend Taiwan in the wake of the Chinese Communist Party invading, we’ve had:

-A Chinese diplomat in Osaka threatening to kill Takaichi, which would be unacceptable from a foreign envoy toward his host… pic.twitter.com/pmoPKzhUrM

— Oliver Jia (オリバー・ジア) (@OliverJia1014) November 19, 2025

Now China is vowing not to buy seafood from Japan.

For more than a week, China and its state media has issued near daily denunciations of Takaichi as well as threats to economically punish Tokyo unless the comments are retracted.

Seafood emerged as the latest pressure point at a regular press briefing on Wednesday from China’s foreign ministry.

“Due to the erroneous remarks made by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on important Taiwan issues, there has been strong public outrage in China,” spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters. “Under the current circumstances, even if Japanese seafood were exported to China, there would be no market for it.”

“Experts” are already weighing in.

John Lim, research fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia at the University of Tokyo, said in an analysis that this is the first time Taiwan has explicitly become a central issue in a major China-Japan diplomatic crisis – shifting from earlier disputes that typically revolved around history or territorial issues.

Describing Takaichi’s remarks as “preventive clarity” aimed at signalling Japan’s red lines while avoiding a full-scale confrontation, Lim noted that both Beijing and Tokyo have strategic reasons to prevent a total breakdown in relations, adding that Japan is using a “dual-track communication” approach – dispatching senior security officials to Beijing to reassure them that Japan is maintaining the status quo.

However, I like my analysis straight-up with a side of sass…so I give you Hot Air’s Beege Welborn.

There has been mounting pressure from the Chinese government on Takaichi to ‘retract’ her comments, but Tokyo signaled they weren’t in ‘the mood to do so.’

It might be a nip or tuck diplomatic ‘crisis,’ but I think it’s frickin’ awesome.

And the Japanese are killing it in the important Meme Wars.

Look at the replies. China’s social media propaganda attacks against Japan only get turned around by Japanese users with excellent memes 😂

(Takaichi is known as a heavy metal and Kawasaki bike enthusiast.) https://t.co/kPtOMsLsiS pic.twitter.com/SC8f8N836H

— Oliver Jia (オリバー・ジア) (@OliverJia1014) November 18, 2025

Clearly, Japan has had enough of China’s recent regional antics.

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