Tokyo – Japan said it had lodged a protest with China early Sunday after a military plane that took off from the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning beamed its radar at a Japanese fighter jet near the southern island of Okinawa. This is the latest standoff between the two countries, whose relations have cooled recently over the Japanese leader's comments about Taiwan.
Japan's Ministry of Defense said a Chinese J-15 military jet “intermittently” illuminated a Japanese F-15 fighter jet with its radar twice on Saturday, for about three minutes in the late afternoon and for about 30 minutes in the evening.
The ministry said the radar lock by the Chinese aircraft was detected by another Japanese fighter jet, which scrambled in preparation for a possible Chinese airspace violation. There was no violation of Japanese airspace, and no injuries or damage were reported as a result of the incident.
It is unclear whether both radar lock incidents involved the same Chinese J-15.
In a press conference early Sunday morning, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Japan was protesting to China over the radar lock, calling it a “dangerous act that goes beyond what is necessary for the safe operation of aircraft.”
Prime Minister Koizumi said, “It is extremely regrettable that such an incident occurred.'' “We have lodged a strong protest with the Chinese side and requested strict measures to prevent a recurrence,” he said.
The incident comes as relations between the two countries have deteriorated in recent weeks.
In early November, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi infuriated China when she said the military could be involved if China took action against Taiwan. Taiwan is an autonomous island that the Chinese government insists must be under its control.
The aircraft carrier Liaoning conducted aircraft takeoff and landing training in the Pacific Ocean on Saturday, passing between Okinawa's main island and nearby Miyako Island.
Kyodo News, citing defense officials, said Japan's F-15 jets, which had been scrambled in preparation for the airspace violation, were tracking the Chinese plane from a safe distance and did not take any action that could be interpreted as a provocation.
Fighter jets can use radar for search purposes or as fire control before launching missiles.
This appears to be the first radar lock involving Japanese and Chinese military aircraft. According to Kyodo News, a Chinese warship beamed its radar at a Japanese destroyer in 2013.