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The Japanese prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has pledged to respond "with calm determination" following reports that Chinese military jets locked their radar onto Japan's fighter jets south-east of Okinawa's main island over the weekend.

An Dangerous Incident Detailed

As stated by Japan's defence ministry, China's J-15 jets from the carrier Liaoning activated their fire-control radar against Japanese F-15s on two occasions last Saturday. This occurred happened at 1632 hours and occurred again approximately later. Officials stated that a visual sighting was not possible because of the range involved, and confirmed that no damage or casualties resulted.

"It marked the first time the Japanese defence ministry has disclosed an event of this nature," a report noted. Military aircraft routinely use radar for search and rescue.

Diplomatic Protest and Counter-Claims

In response to the allegations, China's navy released a statement rejecting the report as "completely inconsistent with reality." The statement demanded Tokyo to "immediately stop making false accusations." Instead, China asserted that Japanese Self-Defense Forces aircraft had "posed a grave risk to flight safety" by consistently flying near its training zones. Beijing did not mention a radar lock-on.

A spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs subsequently urged Japan to "halt its provocative actions of interfering with our routine drills and exercises."

Rising Tensions and Broader Context

Relations linking Beijing and Japan have deteriorated markedly in recent weeks. This cooling followed PM Takaichi stated that an attack on Taiwan might lead to the dispatch of Japanese military if the situation presented an existential threat to Japan.

Takaichi insisted that Tokyo had the right to exercise its right to collective defense, which involves coming to the aid of an ally. She stated that her country had to "prepare for a worst-case scenario" in the Taiwan Strait.

The Japanese defence minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, labeled Saturday's encounter as "highly risky and deeply unfortunate." Subsequently, China's envoy to Japan, Wu Jianghao, was summoned on Sunday.

Japan's vice-foreign minister, Funakoshi Takehiro, lodged a "formal complaint" and demanded Beijing to "ensure that such acts do not recur."

Longstanding Points of Contention

The two nations are also locked in a protracted territorial dispute over a group of Senkaku Islands, called the Diaoyu by Beijing. These tiny, uninhabited islands are situated in waters between Okinawa and Taiwan.

Furthermore, regional tensions persist. Tokyo is strengthening cooperation with American and its partners in the Indo-Pacific region, a region where a number of nations are engaged in their own maritime) disputes with Beijing.

China, for its part, asserts vast territorial claims in adjacent seas, activities that has drawn international concern.