Japan has protested after Chinese fighter jets locked radars on Japanese aircraft as tensions between the two nations worsened.
Locking radar onto an aircraft is considered a threat because it can signal a potential attack. Japan said there were two such incidents Saturday off its southern Okinawa islands.
Japan said it scrambled fighter jets in response to the Chinese J-15 fighter jets, while Beijing accused Tokyo of “harassing” its forces during a training exercise. No injuries or damage were reported. Diplomatic ties between Japan and China have escalated since last month, after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested that Tokyo could take military action if Beijing attacked Taiwan. Beijing views self-governed Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to “reunite” with the mainland.
Both sides have since engaged in increasingly hostile rhetoric towards each other, with the widening rift affecting daily life for citizens in both countries. Last week, China and Japan’s coast guards gave conflicting accounts of a confrontation near disputed islands in the East China Sea. A Japanese defence ministry official said the intention of the Chinese J-15 jets was “unclear”, but added that there was “no need” to lock on to the Japanese planes if their intention was to locate other aircraft.
The J-15 jets, which were launched from China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier, first locked its radar on Japanese jets at 16:32 local time on Saturday (07:32 GMT) and again at around 18:37. The official added that the Japanese aircraft “did not do anything that could be considered a provocation”.
