Relations between China and Japan remain tense, with reports emerging on Saturday (December 6) of Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) fighter jets conducting radar lock-ons to Japan’s Self-Defense Forces aircraft near Okinawa. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takai responded on Sunday, stating that these radar incidents were dangerous actions, and Japan strongly demanded that China take measures to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
Japanese Defense Minister Jiro Koizumi met with Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles in Tokyo on Sunday, emphasizing that Japan will respond “firmly and calmly” to the behavior of Chinese military aircraft to maintain regional peace and stability.
Marles expressed concerns over the incident, stating that Australia has also faced worrying incidents in its interactions with the Chinese military. He pledged continued cooperation with Japan to uphold the rules-based order in the region.
Prime Minister Sanae Takai also commented on the incident in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, calling the radar lock-ons a dangerous act that exceeded what was necessary for safe aircraft operations. She expressed regret over the incident and stressed Japan’s strong protest to China, demanding preventive measures.
“We will respond calmly but resolutely,” Takai said, emphasizing that Japan would enhance monitoring of air and sea activities and closely watch Chinese military movements.
According to Japan’s Kyodo News Agency, this was the first time Japan’s Ministry of Defense disclosed such an incident. The Defense Ministry stated that the Self-Defense Forces aircraft and crew targeted by the radar lock-ons were not damaged.
The Japanese Foreign Ministry summoned Chinese Ambassador to Japan, Wu Jianghao, where Vice Foreign Minister Takehiro Funakoshi lodged a “strong protest” against China’s “dangerous” behavior.
Chinese Navy spokesperson Wang Xuemeng, however, blamed Japan for the incident. He claimed that Japanese Self-Defense Forces aircraft had repeatedly disturbed Chinese naval training airspace, posing a serious threat to flight safety. Wang criticized Japan’s alleged “hype” that was completely unrelated to facts, demanding Japan immediately cease its “smearing.”
On Saturday, Japanese Defense Minister Jiro Koizumi issued a statement revealing two instances of Chinese military planes radar-locking onto Japanese Self-Defense Forces aircraft.
The first incident occurred around 4:32 to 4:35 pm in international airspace southeast of Okinawa, with a PLA J-15 fighter intermittently radar-locking onto a Japanese Air Self-Defense Force F-15 fighter engaging in airspace intrusion prevention activities.
The second incident took place between 6:37 to 7:08 pm in international airspace southeast of Okinawa, again involving a PLA J-15 fighter radar-locking onto a Japanese Air Self-Defense Force F-15 fighter (the same aircraft from the first incident).
Recent tensions in Sino-Japanese relations have escalated due to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takai’s remarks on Taiwan in response to the radar incidents on Saturday. Takai’s statement on November 7 in the parliament, suggesting that any conflict in the Taiwan Strait could be deemed a “threat to Japan’s survival,” signaled Japan’s readiness to exercise collective self-defense rights and intervene in a Taiwan Strait conflict legally. China reacted strongly, implementing economic retaliations against Japan. However, Takai refused to retract her comments, indicating Japan’s lack of willingness to concede to China. Yasuhide Nakayama, a member of the ruling party and former assistant defense minister, stated that discussing security realities truthfully is not provocative but a sovereign nation’s right.