Japan Confirms Chinese Drones Near Coast

June 8, 2024

On June 4, the Japanese Ministry of Defense confirmed for the first time that a Chinese military reconnaissance and attack drone had flown over waters off the southwestern Japanese island of Amami Oshima in Kagoshima Prefecture. A TB-001 medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), used by the People’s Liberation Army, was spotted flying from the East China Sea between the morning and afternoon of June 4.