There was apparent increased activity by Chinese armed forces between end March and early April. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy Air Force (PLANAF) dispatched two Xian H-6G maritime strike bombers and one Shaanxi Y-9JB (GX-8) electronic warfare and surveillance aircraft through international airspace between the Japanese islands of Okinawa and Miyako in the East China Sea on April 1. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) scrambled fighter jets to intercept the PLANAF aircraft in response. The Japanese Ministry of Defense (MoD) clarified that Japanese airspace was not violated. This was the second JASDF scramble conducted against Chinese military aircraft in the East China Sea within 48 hours. On March 30, China flew four  People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Xian H-6K long-range bombers, one Shaanxi Y-9JB electronic countermeasures aircraft, one Tupolev Tu-154MD electronic intelligence plane, and at least two fighter jets over the Miyako Strait — a principal entryway for the Chinese Navy into the Pacific Ocean. The Miyako Strait is a critical chokepoint, the Chinese seizure of which could delay third party intervention and secure the so-called first island chain in the event of a conflict with the United States and its regional allies. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) also deployed two Type 054A Jiangkai II-class guided-missile frigates and an oiler from the PLAN’s East Sea Fleet to the Western Pacific on March 28, according to the Japanese MoD. 

(Comment: The April 1 scramble constitutes the JASDF’s second intercept of a PLAAF/PLANAF bomber formation over the East China Sea in 2019.)

In an announcement on March 23, the Joint Staff of Japan’s Defense Ministry announced that its fighter jets had scrambled to intercept a pair of Chinese 'Shaanxi KQ-200' anti-submarine/maritime patrol aircraft. The aircraft, with its distinctive magnetic anomaly detector boom, is used for detecting submarines. The MAD boom is mounted in the aircraft’s rear fuselage and is plainly visible. A map released by the ministry indicated that the Chinese aircraft flew about 200 miles west of the Japanese island of Okinawa and north of the disputed Senkaku Islands. The serial number painted on the aircraft’s vertical tail indicates it belongs to the 1st Naval Air Division of the People’s Liberation Army Navy. The division, part of the PLAN’s East Sea Fleet, reportedly received its first KQ-200 in 2018, and the aircraft is said to be based out of Dachang airbase located in the metropolis of Shanghai. A satellite photo from April 2018 shows two KQ-200s, with their distinctive MAD booms visible, parked at the base. The flight route of the intercepted aircraft provided by the Japanese Defense Ministry shows the aircraft coming from and returning in the general direction of Shanghai.

(Comment: The KQ-200, which is also known as the Y-8Q, is one of several variants of special-mission aircraft used by China’s military.)