Japan and Taiwan may share intelligence on Chinese aerial threats
Suspected spy balloons prompt calls for increased co-operation between the two nations, with Japan changing military engagement rules to shoot down unmanned aircraft
16 February 2023 - 10:51
byAgency Staff
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A suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, South Carolina, US, on February 4 2023. File photo: RANDALL HILL/REUTERS
Tokyo — The flight of suspected Chinese surveillance balloons has shown that Japan and Taiwan need to share “critical” intelligence about possible aerial threats, a senior defence policymaker for Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) said.
Though Japan does not have official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, it worries that China could imperil Japanese security if it gained control over the self-governing island.
“We don’t have those bilateral relations with Taiwan, so we don’t co-operate on that, but Japan’s government will have to consider what it does next,” Itsunori Onodera, a former defence minister and an influential legislator in the ruling party, said in an interview.
One way Japan could share information with Taiwan could be through its close ally, the US, Onodera said, adding that he had visited Taiwan in January and was briefed about threats posed to the island by China.
Japan said on Tuesday it suspected Chinese spy balloons had flown over Japan at least three times, most recently in 2021.
Japan did not intercept any of them, but on Thursday defence ministry officials briefed Onodera and other LDP legislators about a planned change in military engagement rules to allow Japan’s air force to shoot down unmanned aircraft, including balloons that could endanger other air traffic or people on the ground.
“The rules now cover manned aircraft or military aircraft. The change will add unmanned aircraft to those,” Minoru Kihara, one of the legislators, told reporters after the briefing.
The Japanese Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) will begin training pilots to engage those targets, he said.
Japan on Wednesday said it had warned China that violations of its airspace by surveillance balloons were unacceptable.
The issue of spy balloons has drawn new attention in recent days after US fighter jets shot down a Chinese balloon on February 4, and subsequently three other objects.
China said the balloon was a civilian weather-monitoring aircraft and it accused the US of sending its balloons into Chinese airspace.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Japan and Taiwan may share intelligence on Chinese aerial threats
Suspected spy balloons prompt calls for increased co-operation between the two nations, with Japan changing military engagement rules to shoot down unmanned aircraft
Tokyo — The flight of suspected Chinese surveillance balloons has shown that Japan and Taiwan need to share “critical” intelligence about possible aerial threats, a senior defence policymaker for Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) said.
Though Japan does not have official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, it worries that China could imperil Japanese security if it gained control over the self-governing island.
“We don’t have those bilateral relations with Taiwan, so we don’t co-operate on that, but Japan’s government will have to consider what it does next,” Itsunori Onodera, a former defence minister and an influential legislator in the ruling party, said in an interview.
One way Japan could share information with Taiwan could be through its close ally, the US, Onodera said, adding that he had visited Taiwan in January and was briefed about threats posed to the island by China.
Japan said on Tuesday it suspected Chinese spy balloons had flown over Japan at least three times, most recently in 2021.
Japan did not intercept any of them, but on Thursday defence ministry officials briefed Onodera and other LDP legislators about a planned change in military engagement rules to allow Japan’s air force to shoot down unmanned aircraft, including balloons that could endanger other air traffic or people on the ground.
“The rules now cover manned aircraft or military aircraft. The change will add unmanned aircraft to those,” Minoru Kihara, one of the legislators, told reporters after the briefing.
The Japanese Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) will begin training pilots to engage those targets, he said.
Japan on Wednesday said it had warned China that violations of its airspace by surveillance balloons were unacceptable.
The issue of spy balloons has drawn new attention in recent days after US fighter jets shot down a Chinese balloon on February 4, and subsequently three other objects.
China said the balloon was a civilian weather-monitoring aircraft and it accused the US of sending its balloons into Chinese airspace.
Reuters
Things that go bump in the sky
China claims US flew more than 10 high-altitude balloons over its airspace
US briefs foreign diplomats on Chinese spy balloon threat
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