Japan's Premier Promises a 'Firm' Response After Radar Lock-On Event Involving Chinese Aircraft.
The Japanese leader, Sanae Takaichi, vowed to respond "calmly and resolutely" after accusations that Chinese military aircraft locked their radar onto Japan's fighter jets southeast of the primary island over the weekend.
An Concerning Incident Reported
Per Japan's defence ministry, Chinese J-15 fighter aircraft from the carrier Liaoning activated its fire-control radar on Japanese F-15s on two occasions last Saturday. The first incident took place at 4:32 p.m. and occurred again approximately two hours. Officials stated that visual confirmation could not be obtained because of the range involved, and confirmed that no damage or injuries occurred.
"This was the first time Japan's defence ministry has made public such an incident," a report noted. Military aircraft routinely use radar for target identification.
Diplomatic Protest and Counter-Claims
Reacting to Tokyo's claims, China's military issued a statement rejecting the report as "completely inconsistent with the facts." It demanded Japan to "cease slandering and smearing." Instead, Beijing asserted that Japanese Self-Defense Forces planes had "seriously endangered aviation safety" by repeatedly approaching China's training zones. Beijing made no reference to any radar targeting.
An official for China's foreign ministry subsequently called on Tokyo to "immediately stop its dangerous moves of harassing our normal drills and exercises."
Rising Tensions and Regional Context
Ties between China and Japan have deteriorated significantly in recent weeks. This cooling came after PM Takaichi stated that an attack on Taiwan could trigger the deployment of Japanese military if such a conflict posed an extreme danger to Japan.
She argued that Japan had the right to exercise its legal authority to collective defense, meaning assisting a partner under attack. The Prime Minister emphasized that Japan had to "anticipate a worst-case scenario" in the Taiwan Strait.
The Japanese Defense Minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, labeled Saturday's radar incident as "dangerous and extremely regrettable." In a diplomatic move, China's envoy to Japan, Wu Jianghao, was summoned the following day.
Japan's vice minister for foreign affairs, Funakoshi Takehiro, made a "formal complaint" and urged the Chinese government to "ensure that similar actions are not repeated."
Longstanding Disputes
The two nations are also locked in a long-running sovereignty disagreement over the islands, which are known as the Diaoyu in China. These tiny, uninhabited islands are situated in waters between Okinawa and Taiwan.
Furthermore, regional frictions continue. Tokyo is strengthening military and strategic ties with American and its allies in the Indo-Pacific area, where a number of nations have similar maritime) disagreements with Beijing.
China, in turn, maintains vast territorial claims in the South China Sea, activities that has drawn international concern.
