TOKYO (AP) — Japan has lodged a protest with China following an incident in which a military jet from the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning locked its radar onto Japanese fighter jets near the southern island of Okinawa. This event is the latest in a series of tensions between the two countries, which have escalated after remarks made by Japan's leader concerning Taiwan.
According to Japan's Defense Ministry, the Chinese military aircraft, a J-15, "intermittently" targeted its radar at Japanese F-15 fighter jets on two occasions on Saturday. The radar lock was detected for approximately three minutes in the late afternoon and for about 30 minutes in the evening. The Japanese fighters had scrambled in response to a potential airspace violation by China, although no breach of Japanese airspace occurred, and there were no reports of injury or damage as a result of the incident.
It remains unclear if the radar locking incident involved the same Chinese J-15 both times. Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi addressed reporters early Sunday, condemning the radar lock as "a dangerous act that exceeded the scope necessary for safe aircraft operations." Koizumi expressed that such incidents are "extremely regrettable" and emphasized that Japan had issued a strong protest to the Chinese government, calling for strict preventive measures to avoid future occurrences.
No immediate reactions were reported from the Chinese government or military. However, on Friday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian asserted that the Chinese navy operates in compliance with international law and urged against exaggerating its activities. This incident occurs amid worsening relations between Japan and China, particularly following comments made by Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in early November, indicating that Japan's military could engage if China were to act against Taiwan, a self-governing island that Beijing asserts must be unified with the mainland.
On Saturday, the aircraft carrier Liaoning transited between the main island of Okinawa and Miyako Island while conducting aircraft takeoff and landing drills in the Pacific. Japanese F-15 fighter jets had been deployed to monitor the situation but maintained a safe distance without engaging in actions that could be construed as provocation, according to reports from the Kyodo News agency, citing defense officials.
Fighter jets are capable of using radars for various purposes, including search operations or fire control prior to missile launches. This radar locking incident is believed to be the first of its kind involving Japanese and Chinese military aircraft. A similar incident occurred in 2013 when a Chinese warship targeted a radar on a Japanese destroyer, as reported by Kyodo News.
In a related development in the Pacific, the Philippine coast guard reported that China fired three flares toward a fisheries bureau aircraft on patrol in the South China Sea. Such flares are typically used by Chinese forces to warn aircraft to vacate what they deem their airspace over the contested waters.
