How will China deal with Japanese fighters' interception

Japan again dispatched its F-15 fighters to intercept a Chinese maritime surveillance aircraft patrolling in the air space over the waters near the Diaoyu Islands on December 24, 2012. This was the second time in the past three days for the Japanese fighters to be urgently dispatched. Whether China will dispatch its military aircraft, even fighters, to patrol in the air space over the waters near the Diaoyu Islands becomes the focus of attention.

In fact, it is a common military practice internationally to conduct air patrol and interception as well as surveillance and counter-surveillance not only in the Cold War period, but also at present. This type of peer-to-peer counterblow frequently happens near the air space of many countries. While Wang Ya'nan, a Chinese military expert, held that it is not necessary for China to dispatch military aircraft at present, as dispatching Chinese government's official aircraft to patrol in the air space over the waters near the Diaoyu Islands is fully enough for a war of attrition against Japan, Dai Xu, another Chinese military expert, held that China should show the will of peer-to-peer fight back.

Will China dispatch its fighters for a peer-to-peer counterblow?

A Chinese expert told the Global Times on December 24, 2012 that it is understandable for China to dispatch either maritime surveillance aircraft or military aircraft to conduct patrolling in the air space over the waters near the Diaoyu Islands in the perspective of either international law or current military practice. China's selection of maritime surveillance aircraft reflects its relatively restrained attitude. Meanwhile, selecting the small propeller plane with longer flight duration is conducive to long-time stay in the air. In addition, its low speed can cause difficulties for Japan to deal with. Actually, it may be not the best choice even if the Chinese military dispatches fighters to patrol the Diaoyu Islands, as the flight duration of fighters is usually shorter. While the patrol aircraft with longer flight duration can conduct long-time patrolling and is suitable to be used to break Japan's so-called "actual control" over the Diaoyu Islands.