Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force scrambled fighters after two Chinese WZ-7 reconnaissance-drone flights traversed the Miyako Strait on 2 November, following the same route between the East China Sea and the Pacific. Japan’s Joint Staff reported that the aircraft flew over waters south of Okinawa’s main island and Miyako Island before returning through the strait toward the Chinese mainland. It did not report a violation of Japanese airspace.
The Joint Staff recorded one flight from the morning into the early afternoon and another later that day. Its account does not establish whether the flights involved one drone making two trips or two separate aircraft. The Miyako Strait is a passage between Okinawa and Miyako Island connecting the East China Sea with the Pacific.
The November activity was the second and third reported appearance of a WZ-7 in the area within a month. Japan had reported a WZ-7 flight on 14 October, and the type had also been observed in the region in 2023 and 2024. Chinese state media described the latest flights as normal activity and suggested they may have supported the Liaoning carrier group; that explanation has not been independently confirmed.