A Japanese fighter jet pilot was missing after his F-15 crashed in the East China Sea during a training flight on Tuesday, the Defence Ministry said.
I'd think nothing of it at all but for the fact that China and Japan do have disputes over economic zones in the East China Sea. And China has been more aggressive in their actions to defend their claims lately.
Probably nothing. But knocking down a single plane with no witnesses might be quite the signal to the Japanese to back off.
And a warning to us.
Plus, if we do nothing to support the Japanese, it could harm US-Japanese defense ties.
Of course, if it was just an accident, never mind. Nothing in the story hints that there is Chinese involvement. But the location, a single Japanese plane crashing, Chinese recent attitudes, and a small dose of suspicion at least raise the question in my mind.
UPDATE: Strategypages writes that Japan has grounded all 201 F-15s in case a common problem caused that plane to go down. Which would indicate a mechanical cause. And while the story was indexed under "China," there is no "Japan" index.
