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Japan's prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, vowed to act "calmly and resolutely" after claims that Chinese military aircraft locked their radar onto Japanese fighter jets southeast of the primary island during the weekend.

An Serious Aerial Encounter Disclosed

Per Japan's defence ministry, Chinese J-15 jets operating from the aircraft carrier Liaoning activated its targeting radar on Japanese F-15s on two occasions last Saturday. The first incident happened at 4:32 p.m. and occurred again approximately two hours. Officials stated that visual confirmation could not be obtained because of the distance, and confirmed that no damage or injuries were reported.

"This was the first time Japan's Ministry of Defense has disclosed such an incident," one news agency stated. Military aircraft routinely use radar for tracking purposes.

Diplomatic Objection and Counter-Claims

In response to the allegations, China's navy issued a declaration rejecting the report as "totally contrary to reality." The statement urged Japan to "cease slandering and smearing." Conversely, Beijing claimed that Japan's Self-Defense Forces aircraft had "posed a grave risk to flight safety" by repeatedly flying near China's training zones. The Chinese statement did not mention any radar targeting.

An official for the Chinese foreign ministry subsequently urged Tokyo to "halt its dangerous moves of harassing China's routine military exercise and training."

Escalating Tensions and Regional Context

Ties between China and Japan have soured markedly in recent weeks. The downturn came after Prime Minister Takaichi remarked that hostilities against Taiwan could lead to the dispatch of Japanese military should the situation presented an existential threat to the nation.

Takaichi insisted that Tokyo had the right to invoke its legal authority to collective self-defence, meaning coming to the aid of an ally. She emphasized that her country had to "anticipate a worst-case scenario" regarding the Taiwan Strait.

Japan's defence minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, described Saturday's encounter as "dangerous and extremely regrettable." In a diplomatic move, China's ambassador to Japan, Wu Jianghao, was called in the following day.

A senior vice-foreign minister, Funakoshi Takehiro, lodged a "formal complaint" and demanded the Chinese government to "ensure that similar actions do not recur."

Longstanding Points of Contention

Japan and China are also locked in a long-running territorial dispute over a group of islands, which are known as the Diaoyu in China. The tiny, unoccupied islands are situated in waters between Okinawa and Taiwan.

Furthermore, regional tensions continue. Tokyo has been deepening military and strategic ties with the US and other partners in the Asia-Pacific region, a region where a number of countries are engaged in their own territorial and maritime disagreements with China.

Beijing, in turn, asserts vast territorial claims in adjacent seas, a posture that has drawn criticism and legal challenges.