🔗 Share this article

The Japanese leader, Sanae Takaichi, committed to respond "with calm determination" after claims that Chinese military jets targeted with fire-control radar Japan's fighter jets southeast of the primary island during the weekend.

An Serious Aerial Encounter Disclosed

Per the Japanese Ministry of Defense, China's J-15 jets from the aircraft carrier Liaoning activated its fire-control radar against Japanese F-15s twice last Saturday. The first incident took place at 4:32 p.m. and occurred again approximately two hours. Officials stated that visual confirmation was not possible because of the range involved, and confirmed that no damage or casualties were reported.

"It marked an unprecedented instance the Japanese defence ministry has reported an event of this nature," a report stated. Fighter jets commonly use radar to tracking purposes.

Diplomatic Objection and Counter-Claims

In response to the allegations, China's navy issued a statement dismissing the report as "completely inconsistent with the facts." It urged Tokyo to "immediately stop making false accusations." Instead, Beijing claimed that Japan's SDF aircraft had "posed a grave risk to flight safety" by consistently approaching China's exercise areas. Beijing did not mention any radar targeting.

An official for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs later called on Tokyo to "halt its provocative actions of harassing our routine drills and exercises."

Escalating Strains and Broader Context

Relations between China and Tokyo have deteriorated significantly in recent weeks. The downturn followed Prime Minister Takaichi remarked that an attack on Taiwan might lead to the deployment of Japan's military if the situation posed an existential threat to Japan.

Takaichi insisted that Japan could invoke its legal authority to collective defense, which involves coming to the aid of an ally. The Prime Minister emphasized that her country had to "anticipate a worst-case scenario" regarding the Taiwan Strait.

The Japanese defence minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, described Saturday's encounter as "highly risky and deeply unfortunate." Subsequently, China's envoy to Japan, Wu Jianghao, was summoned on Sunday.

Japan's vice-foreign minister, Funakoshi Takehiro, made a "strong protest" and demanded Beijing to "ensure that similar actions do not recur."

Longstanding Points of Contention

Japan and China have a protracted territorial dispute over a group of islands, which are known as the Diaoyu in China. These small, uninhabited islets lie between Okinawa and Taiwan.

Furthermore, regional tensions persist. Tokyo has been strengthening military and strategic ties with the US and other partners in the Indo-Pacific region, where a number of nations are engaged in similar territorial and maritime disagreements with China.

Beijing, in turn, maintains extensive sovereignty claims in the South China Sea, activities that has prompted international concern.