UPDATE: As Chinese 'Prepare For The Worst' After Military Confrontation With Japan In The East China

[xchrom]

http://www.businessinsider.com/china-fighter-jet-flights-diaoyu-senkaku-islands-2013-1

UPDATE: As Chinese 'Prepare For The Worst' After Military Confrontation With Japan In The East China Sea

Update: In the 24 hours since this news was reported we've uncovered many additional details and added them below early morning January 13.

A Friday press release out of China confirms Beijing was flying a Y-8 on a "routine Thursday patrol" over the "oil and gas fields in the East China Sea." We knew yesterday it was a transport plane of some type, but the fact that it's a Y-8 is interesting.

The Diplomat calls the Y-8 a transport plane, and it can be, but the aircraft has more than 30 variants. The Y-8 performs everything from Mineral Research, to Geophysical Surveying, to Electronic Warfare to Intelligence Gathering and one variant is simply an innocuous but lethal fully loaded gunship, with two heavy cannons and three heavy machine guns.

It's the perfect plane for a game of cat and mouse because if the Y-8 ever took fire from Japan, China could always maintain it was an unarmed transport model carrying troops, or the Y8-F model, that carries only livestock.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/china-fighter-jet-flights-diaoyu-senkaku-islands-2013-1#ixzz2HlBXinrE

[davidpdx]

1. This isn't going to end well

It's a grudge match between two enemies.

[Turbineguy]

2. Of course they could just

share the oil and gas, but that would be too simple and much less expensive.