Japan's military caught a Chinese TB-001 reconnaissance and attack drone over contested waters near its southwestern islands last week. The so-called Twin-Tailed Scorpion traveled through the East China Sea, passing the strategically significant Miyako Strait, and then turned its route toward a wider Pacific area.
This is the second time in July for Japan's Air Self-Defense Force to intercept that type of drone, according to Japan's Defense Ministry's Joint Staff Office. The first was on July 8 when, as this time, the drone returned to its departure point in China. This time, however, the drone changed course over the Philippine Sea, radiating that it was returning to southern China.
The Miyako Strait is a vital water pass between Japan's Miyako and Okinawa islands. The strait is the first island chain that begins in Japan and goes through Taiwan and on to the Philippines. Recently, Japan installed its Okinawa-based anti-ship missile launchers in the light of increased Chinese naval operations.
The incident only serves to elevate the growing security tensions in the East China Sea, where both China and Japan are staking claims in the disputed land areas, including the Senkaku Islands—Diaoyu, as known in China. As geopolitical dynamics begin to rise, such incidents indicate fragile stability of the region and proof of strategic rivalry between the two nations.