Japan Presses China to Avert Further Radar-Locking Incidents

(MENAFN) Japan’s Prime Minister Takaichi on Sunday appealed to China to “prevent recurrence of radar lock on Japanese jets”, as both nations advanced opposing accounts of recent encounters between their fighter aircraft.

The report, carried by a news agency, highlighted rising tension between the neighboring militaries.

Earlier that day, Japan alleged that Chinese fighter jets had aimed their fire-control radar at Japanese F-15s during two distinct episodes above international waters.

According to officials, these confrontations unfolded on Saturday over seas located southeast of Okinawa island. Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi detailed the incidents in a statement posted on the US social media platform X.

Koizumi stated that the J-15 jets, launched from China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier, had locked onto two Japanese military planes “intermittently” during the separate encounters.

He condemned the behavior as “dangerous,” explaining that Tokyo had lodged a “strong protest” with Beijing while urging it not to repeat such purported actions. He added that no injuries or physical damage resulted from the events.

Meanwhile, Wang Xuemeng, spokesperson for China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, asserted that the Liaoning carrier group had been conducting routine fighter training east of the Miyako Strait.

As cited by a media outlet, Wang claimed that Japanese military aircraft “repeatedly approached the PLA Navy’s training sea and airspace and made harassment, seriously interfering with China’s normal training activities and posing a severe threat to flight safety.”

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