Japan's Prime Minister Promises a 'Determined' Answer After Radar Lock-On Incident Involving China's Fighter Jets.
Japan's prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has pledged to respond "calmly and resolutely" after reports that Chinese military jets targeted with fire-control radar Japanese fighter jets south-east of Okinawa's primary island over the weekend.
An Serious Aerial Encounter Disclosed
As stated by the Japanese defence ministry, Chinese J-15 fighter aircraft operating from the carrier Liaoning engaged their fire-control radar on Japanese F-15s twice on Saturday. The first incident happened at 1632 hours and occurred again about two hours. The ministry noted that a visual sighting was not possible due to the range involved, adding that there was no damage or casualties resulted.
"This was an unprecedented instance the Japanese defence ministry has made public an event of this nature," a report noted. Fighter jets routinely employ radar systems to target identification.
Diplomatic Protest and Counter-Claims
Reacting to Tokyo's claims, China's military released a statement rejecting them as "completely inconsistent with the facts." The statement urged Japan to "cease making false accusations." Conversely, China claimed that Japan's Self-Defense Forces planes had "seriously endangered aviation safety" by consistently approaching its exercise areas. The Chinese statement made no reference to any radar targeting.
An official for China's foreign ministry subsequently called on Japan to "immediately stop its provocative actions of interfering with China's normal drills and exercises."
Escalating Strains and Regional Background
Ties linking Beijing and Japan have worsened markedly in recent weeks. This cooling came after PM Takaichi remarked that hostilities against Taiwan could trigger the deployment of Japanese Self-Defense Forces should the situation presented an existential threat to the nation.
Takaichi insisted that Tokyo had the right to invoke its legal authority to collective self-defence, meaning assisting a partner under attack. The Prime Minister stated that her country had to "anticipate a worst-case scenario" regarding the Taiwan Strait.
Japan's defence minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, described the encounter as "highly risky and deeply unfortunate." Subsequently, China's ambassador to Japan, Wu Jianghao, was called in on Sunday.
A senior vice minister for foreign affairs, Funakoshi Takehiro, lodged a "strong protest" and urged Beijing to "ensure that similar actions do not recur."
Longstanding Disputes
The two nations have a long-running sovereignty disagreement over the islands, which are known as the Diaoyu by Beijing. These small, uninhabited islets lie in waters between Okinawa and Taiwan.
Furthermore, regional frictions continue. Japan has been strengthening cooperation with American and other partners in the Indo-Pacific region, where a number of nations have similar territorial and maritime disputes with Beijing.
Beijing, for its part, maintains extensive sovereignty claims in the South China Sea, activities that has drawn international concern.