【英文】兰德报告：美中如在东海冲突，日本可能扮演的角色（162页）

The second type of operation that is relevant to an East China Sea contingency is the  ASDF’s ongoing aerial scrambles against foreign aircraft that enter Japan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). While Japan has a long history of scrambling to intercept Soviet  planes entering Japanese airspace, these efforts now focus primarily on Chinese military aircraft flying with increasing frequency near Japanese territory and in airspace over strategic  waterways, such as the Miyako Strait (the waterway between Miyako Island and Okinawa).  Though down from the Cold War era, these scrambles also target Russian incursions, as well.  As shown in Figure 2.3, ASDF scrambles have been on the rise over the past decade. 

Arguably, these air sovereignty missions are the closest Japan’s SDF has come to combat,  given that they are responding immediately to adversaries in Japanese airspace and contain a  real possibility of casualties. The ASDF are also operating at an increased operational tempo,  having to surge their capabilities to respond to rapidly changing situations. These are not without costs. As a 2018 RAND publication noted, these scrambles have imposed opportunity  costs for training in the ASDF fighter force, which could erode ASDF combat readiness, and  have forced the ASDF to make adjustments in procedures, deployments, and acquisitions.