Japan said on Sunday that Chinese fighter jets directed fire control radar at Japanese military aircraft in two incidents near the Okinawa islands, calling the moves dangerous. China denied the allegation.
Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the radar use went beyond what is necessary for safe flight and that Japan had lodged a formal protest over Saturday’s incident.
Meeting Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles in Tokyo, Koizumi said Japan would respond resolutely and calmly to protect regional peace and stability.
China’s navy offered a different account. A spokesperson said Japanese aircraft had repeatedly approached and disrupted Chinese forces during previously announced carrier based flight training east of the Miyako Strait. He said Japan’s actions seriously endangered flight safety.
The incidents occurred near islands claimed by both countries and mark the most serious encounters between their militaries in years.
Tensions have risen further after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi warned that Japan could respond to any Chinese military action against Taiwan if it also threatened Japan’s security.
Fire control radar is used to guide weapons and signals a potential attack. Japan did not say whether a full lock on had occurred or how its aircraft responded.
Australia backed Japan. Marles said Canberra was deeply concerned by China’s actions and would continue working with Japan to support the rules based order.
China has also advised its citizens not to travel to Japan and has suspended plans to resume seafood imports halted after Japan released treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant.
Taiwan lies just 110 kilometres from Japan’s westernmost island. China claims the island as its own and has stepped up military and political pressure. Taiwan rejects the claim.
Japan hosts the largest overseas presence of U.S. forces, including warships, aircraft and thousands of marines stationed in Okinawa.
Washington did not immediately comment on the radar incident. The U.S. ambassador to Japan has posted messages supporting Tokyo, while President Donald Trump has remained publicly silent.
Trump plans to visit Beijing next year for trade talks. Last month he urged Tokyo not to escalate tensions after speaking by phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Japan said the Chinese jets involved were J-15 fighters launched from the aircraft carrier Liaoning, which was operating south of Okinawa with three missile destroyers. Japan scrambled F-15 fighters in response.
Similar incidents have occurred before. In 2013 Japan said a Chinese warship locked fire control radar on one of its destroyers. In 2016 China accused Japanese jets of doing the same. In June this year Japan said Chinese jets flew dangerously close to one of its patrol aircraft near Okinawa.
On Thursday, more than 100 Chinese naval and coast guard vessels were deployed across East Asian waters at one time, according to sources cited by Reuters.
Taiwan said the build up posed a threat to the Indo Pacific region. Japan said it is monitoring the activity closely.
On Sunday, Taiwan’s coast guard said it was monitoring drills by three Chinese maritime safety ships west of the median line in the Taiwan Strait and that the situation remained normal.
Chinese state media said the drills were routine search and rescue operations in busy shipping areas. Taiwan accused China of using misleading wording to apply psychological pressure.
China says it exercises sovereignty over the Taiwan Strait, a key global trade route. The United States and Taiwan say the strait is an international waterway.
U.S. President Donald Trump's threats to make the Strait of Hormuz part of U.S. territory have been mocked by Iran's Deputy Foreign Ministe...
Iran says the U.S. war and military presence in the region have worsened marine pollution around the Strait of Hormuz, calling for environmental pr...
Jason Arday, the former University of Cambridge professor at the centre of a plagiarism row, has been found dea...
Flights at Catania airport in Sicily will remain suspended until early Friday as ash from Mount Etna continues to disrupt air travel, following hundreds of cancellations and diversions over the past week.
Hundreds of flights have been cancelled or rerouted at Catania Airport over the past week as ash from Mount Etna’s ongoing eruption continues to disrupt air travel in Sicily.
Iran says the Strait of Hormuz remains under its control, rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim of “total control” over the strategic waterway and insisting it will not reopen until Washington fulfils its commitments under an interim deal.
The U.S. will impose unprecedented measures on Iran in order to economically isolate the country, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said.
Russia has accused Ukraine of threatening global grain supplies after recent strikes on Black Sea agricultural infrastructure, while Moscow carried out a new overnight attack on Ukraine’s major Danube port of Izmail.
Jason Arday, the former University of Cambridge professor at the centre of a plagiarism row, has been found dead. He was appointed Cambridge's youngest ever Black professor in 2023, but quit on 5 August, after being accused of lifting passages from his PhD from the work of other academics.
Wildfires across England and Wales have reached their highest level on record, according to the National Fire Chiefs Council, as firefighters struggle to contain outbreaks following a spell of extreme heat.
A federal court has allowed the Trump administration to move forward with ending temporary immigration protections for Somali nationals living in the United States, a decision that could leave more than 1,000 people vulnerable to deportation.
Iran and Afghanistan are seeking closer cooperation in agriculture, livestock and irrigation during a three-day Iranian ministerial visit to Kabul, as both sides look to strengthen trade and rural economies.
A ransom payment estimated at $50 million for the release of a hostage held by al Qaeda-linked militants in Mali has significantly strengthened the group's operations across West Africa and provided funding to other branches of the global extremist network, according to a United Nations report.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment