ANNUAL REPORT

202
Figure 3: Comparison of the China Coast Guard Haijing 2901 with U.S.
Navy and PLA Navy Ships
Source: Ryan Martinson, ‘‘East Asian Security in the Age of the Chinese Mega-Cutter,’’ Center
for International Maritime Security, July 3, 2015.
In addition, scrambles * by Japanese fighter aircraft in response
to Chinese aircraft continue to increase, suggesting an uptick in
Chinese air activity around the islands and raising the risk of an
accidental collision. 64 In its 2015 fiscal year (which ended on March
31, 2016), Japan scrambled fighters 571 times against Chinese aircraft
after 464 such scrambles in fiscal year 2014. 65 The number
of scrambles against Chinese aircraft in the first three months of
2016 more than doubled in comparison to the same period in
2015. 66 Scrambles against Chinese aircraft increased again during
the next three months, jumping from 114 during that same period
in 2015 to around 200. 67 The head of public affairs at the Japanese
Self-Defense Force’s Joint Staff said in April 2016, ‘‘China is modernizing
its air force and is clearly aiming to improve its air combat
capability in faraway skies . . . Concrete activities based on those
targets are reflected in these numbers.’’ 68 Regarding a scramble by
Japanese fighter aircraft over the East China Sea on June 17, China’s
Ministry of Defense asserted that the aircraft took ‘‘provocative’’
actions against Chinese fighter aircraft, an assertion the Japanese
government denied. 69
dkrause on DSKHT7XVN1PROD with USCC
* In military aviation, scrambling refers to directing the immediate takeoff of aircraft from a
ground alert condition of readiness to react to a potential air threat.
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