Japanese authorities confirm deployment of fighter jets near its Taiwan adjacent Yonaguni island post detection of suspected Chinese drone

Tokyo, Nov. 17 -- Japanese authorities on Monday said that they had scrambled fighter aircraft after the military detected a suspected Chinese drone flying between its Yonaguni Island and the strait of Taiwan on Saturday, exacerbating the already considerable regional tensions.

The Japanese Defence Ministry, confirming the deployment, wrote on X: "On Saturday, 15 November 2025, an unmanned aerial vehicle, believed to be of Chinese origin, was confirmed to have flown between Yonaguni Island and Taiwan. In response, fighter aircraft from the Japan Air Self-Defence Force's Southwest Air Defence Command scrambled."Yonaguni, Japan's westernmost island, is also one of the archipelago nation's most strategically vulnerable locations, as it sits b...