【Epoch Times Report, July 11, 2025】 According to reports from Japanese media, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army aircraft JH-7 made an unusually close approach to a Japanese Self-Defense Force aircraft in the East China Sea on Wednesday, July 9. The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense are currently analyzing the situation. Japan’s Foreign Minister, Takeshi Iwaya, expressed serious concerns about China’s military activities near Japan during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday, July 10.
Multiple sources within the Japanese government revealed that a Chinese JH-7 fighter-bomber aircraft approached a Japanese Air Self-Defense Force YS-11EB electronic reconnaissance aircraft in the open skies over the East China Sea on Wednesday.
China’s activities near Japan have been increasingly active. On June 7 and 8, J-15 fighters launched from the Chinese aircraft carrier “Shandong” made dangerously close approaches to Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force P-3C patrol aircraft engaged in surveillance missions. It is believed that these aircraft were armed with missiles and flew within a range of less than 45 meters at the same altitude as the patrol aircraft, posing a risk of collision.
“The unusually close approach of Chinese military aircraft may lead to accidental collisions, and we express serious concerns about this and strongly demand that similar incidents be prevented from reoccurring,” stated the Japanese Ministry of Defense at the time.
Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian accused Japanese aircraft of conducting close-range reconnaissance of Chinese military activities.
On Thursday, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Malaysia. A statement released by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Iwaya expressed Japan’s serious concerns about the deteriorating situation in the surrounding maritime and airspace, such as the East China Sea situation, including the circumstances around the Diaoyu Islands (known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan) and cited various incidents including Chinese coast guard helicopters violating Japanese airspace, Chinese military aircraft making close approaches to Japanese Self-Defense Force aircraft, increasing activities of Chinese aircraft carriers, as well as China’s unilateral development of natural resources in the East China Sea. The Japanese Foreign Minister strongly urged China to address these issues.