Japan says jets scrambling at record pace to counter Chinese, Russian intrusions

Japan Self-Defense Force's (JSDF) F-15 fighter flies during the JSDF Air Review to celebrate 60 years since the service's founding, at Hyakuri air base in Omitama, northeast of Tokyo October 26, 2014. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese air force jets are scrambling at a record pace to counter Chinese fighters intruding into its air space along its southern flank and Russian bombers and spy planes probing its northern defences, the Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.

Chinese fighter flights have increased in and around the energy-rich East China Sea, where Japan and China both lay claim to a group of islets.