中国機異常接近 習政権は常軌逸した挑発慎め

The Yomiuri Shimbun 7:22 pm, May 26, 2014
China fighters’ abnormally close flying to SDF planes an aberrant provocation
中国機異常接近　習政権は常軌逸した挑発慎め

An incident has taken place that must be condemned as a thoughtless and extremely dangerous provocation, an act that came within a hair’s breadth of a midair collision. We absolutely will not overlook this occurrence.
　一歩間違えば衝突事故につながりかねない、非常識かつ極めて危険な挑発行為である。看過することはできない。

Two Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jets belonging to the Chinese military flew abnormally close to a Maritime Self-Defense Force OP-3C image data acquisition plane and an Air Self-Defense Force YS-11EB electronic intelligence plane Saturday, which were flying over the high seas in the East China Sea.
　中国軍のＳＵ２７戦闘機２機が２４日、東シナ海の公海上空を飛行していた海上自衛隊のＯＰ３Ｃ画像情報収集機と、航空自衛隊のＹＳ１１ＥＢ情報収集機に異常接近した。

The incident occurred in airspace where Japan’s air defense identification zone overlaps with what China claims as its own ADIZ. One of the Chinese fighters was reported to have flown roughly 50 meters from the OP-3C aircraft, while the other came as close as about 30 meters from the YS-11EB plane.
　現場は、日本の防空識別圏と、中国が主張する防空識別圏が重なる空域である。中国軍機はＯＰ３Ｃには約５０メートル、ＹＳ１１ＥＢには約３０メートルまで近づいたという。

International law does not explicitly stipulate the distance that airplanes should maintain from one another for safety purposes. However, the recent acts of flying extraordinarily close to the SDF planes are an affront to what are considered norms in the international community.
　国際法上、航空機同士が安全のため確保すべき距離は定められていないが、今回のような異常接近は国際常識から外れている。

On Sunday, Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera criticized China for its fighters’ aggressive behavior toward the SDF aircraft as “completely aberrant acts.” The Japanese government has lodged a protest over the incident through diplomatic channels, a natural response to the Chinese warplanes’ extremely close approaches.
　小野寺防衛相は「常軌を逸した近接行動だ」と中国を批判した。日本政府は外交ルートを通じ中国に抗議した。当然の対応だ。

The incident took place while China and Russia were conducting joint naval exercises in the East China Sea. The Defense Ministry said that at the time of the incident, the SDF planes were engaged in ordinary warning and surveillance duties at a considerable distance from the China-Russia exercise area. The Chinese Defense Ministry, however, issued a statement Sunday claiming that the SDF planes “monitored and interfered with the joint military drill by the navies of China and Russia.”
　東シナ海では、中国とロシアが合同演習を実施していた。防衛省によると、自衛隊機は演習区域から離れた場所で通常の警戒監視任務中だったが、中国国防省は「自衛隊機が中露合同演習を偵察、妨害した」との声明を発表した。

In the past, there have been several instances in which helicopters and airplanes of China’s State Oceanic Administration flew close to—within 100 meters—MSDF destroyers in the East China Sea.
　中国は過去にも、国家海洋局のヘリコプターや航空機が東シナ海で数回、海自の護衛艦の１００メートル以内を近接飛行した例がある。

SDF must not waver

The fighter jets that made extremely close approaches to the SDF planes were equipped with missiles and capable of flying at a far higher velocity. Beijing’s attempt to unilaterally justify such a dangerous show of force is absolutely unforgivable. While paying due attention to safety, the SDF must be resolute in continuing its warning and surveillance activities.
　今回は、ミサイルを搭載し、速度も速い戦闘機だ。より危険な示威活動を一方的に正当化しようとすることは許されない。自衛隊は安全に配慮しつつ、警戒監視活動をきちんと継続すべきだ。

Behind the unusual approaches by the Chinese fighters may be the hard-line posture of the administration of Chinese President Xi Jinping, which has been pursuing a policy of expanding China’s hegemony in both the East China and South China seas under the banner of building the nation into a maritime power.
　中国機の異常接近の背景には、「海洋強国」建設を掲げ、東・南シナ海で覇権の拡大を目指す習近平政権の強硬姿勢があろう。

It is worrying that the Chinese troops deployed in these areas may repeat such extreme shows of force.
　懸念されるのは、中国軍の現場部隊が今後も、過激な示威活動を繰り返しかねないことだ。

As demonstrated by an incident in January last year, in which a Chinese frigate locked its weaponry radar on an MSDF destroyer in the East China Sea, it is highly likely that the Chinese military has yet to put in place rules of engagement that would clearly prohibit military acts that run contrary to international norms.
　昨年１月の海自艦船へのレーダー照射事件で明らかになったように、軍隊の国際常識に反する行為を明確に禁止する部隊行動基準（ＲＯＥ）さえ中国軍には整っていない可能性が高いと見られる。

In reference to the radar-locking incident, a meeting of the Western Pacific Naval Symposium held in China in April this year with 21 countries taking part adopted the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea, defining such acts as targeting radar at a foreign naval vessel as “actions to be avoided.”
　レーダー照射に関しては、今年４月、中国で開かれた２１か国の西太平洋海軍シンポジウムで採択された行動規範で、「回避すべき行動」に位置づけられた。

Japan, for its part, should draft an international code of conduct and a set of rules regarding military affairs for the prevention of a contingency or a collision of warships or aircraft, in close cooperation with the United States and other relevant countries, with the aim of persistently urging China to participate in the framework of rules.
　日本は、米国や関係国と緊密に連携し、不慮の事故や衝突を防止する軍事的な国際行動規範やルールを策定して、中国に参加を粘り強く促すことが重要だ。

Efforts should also be made to resume currently stalled consultations between Tokyo and Beijing to formulate a bilateral “maritime liaison mechanism” focusing on such matters as the establishment of a hotline between senior defense officers of the two countries, with a view to achieving an agreement on the matter as early as possible.
　制服組幹部間のホットライン設置などを柱とする日中の「海上連絡メカニズム」の協議も再開し、早期合意を目指したい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, May 26, 2014)