Three Twin-tailed Scorpion drones fly in formation on an undisclosed date in the first half of 2023. It marks the first time China's domestically developed long-endurance drones have flown in a close formation while fully loaded with munitions. Photo: Screenshot from China Central Television

Japan's defense ministry said it spotted a Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) drone flying into the West Pacific on Tuesday, with analysts saying on Wednesday that the operation could serve as a countermeasure against US aircraft carrier activities on China's doorstep.

A TB-001 armed reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of the Chinese military on Tuesday flew past the Miyako Strait from the East China Sea into the West Pacific to the south of Okinawa Island, before returning from the same path, Japan's Ministry of Defense Joint Staff said in a press release on Tuesday evening.

The TB-001, also known as the Twin-tailed Scorpion, is a long endurance drone domestically developed by China capable of carrying out reconnaissance, surveillance and attack missions, according to a China Central Television report.

This is not the first time Japan has reported Chinese drone presence over the past two weeks.

On May 27, Japan's Ministry of Defense Joint Staff said in a press release that a Chinese WL-10 armed reconnaissance drone flew above the East China Sea on that day, and it marked the first time a WL-10 was spotted by Japan.

The PLA Air Force announced the commissioning of the WL-10, or Wing Loong-10, as an electronic reconnaissance drone under the official designation WZ-10 in 2022 at that year's Airshow China. The drone can collect and locate hostile radar signals, the PLA Air Force said at the time.

China's aviation industry has developed rapidly in the drone sector over recent years, with multiple types of UAVs entering service with the PLA, observers said.

The Chinese drones did not enter another country's territorial airspace, and they likely conducted normal training exercises and patrol missions on China's doorsteps, which Japan should not sensationalize to hype "China threat" narrative, a Beijing-based military expert told the Global Times on Wednesday.

According to the US Naval Institute's website, the Japan-based USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier has been operating since late May in the Philippine Sea, the West Pacific waters just outside of the Miyako Strait.

The location is a strategically important area for the US and Japan to militarily contain China and interfere in the Taiwan question, so it is possible that the PLA drones were deployed to conduct reconnaissance on the US carrier on China's doorstep as a countermeasure, the above-mentioned expert said.