🔗 Share this article Japan's Prime Minister Pledges a 'Firm' Answer Following Radar Lock-On Event Involving China's Fighter Jets. The Japanese leader, Sanae Takaichi, vowed to respond "calmly and resolutely" following claims that People's Liberation Army aircraft acquired a radar lock on Japanese F-15s southeast of the main island over the past weekend. An Serious Aerial Encounter Disclosed According to the Japanese Ministry of Defense, Chinese J-15 jets operating from the aircraft carrier Liaoning engaged its targeting radar against Japan's F-15s on two occasions last Saturday. The first incident took place at 1632 hours and occurred again about two hours. Officials noted that a visual sighting was not possible because of the distance, and confirmed that no damage or casualties resulted. "This was the first time Japan's Ministry of Defense has disclosed an event of this nature," one news agency noted. Military aircraft commonly use radar to target identification. Diplomatic Protest and Counter-Claims In response to the allegations, China's navy issued a statement dismissing them as "totally contrary to reality." It demanded Japan to "immediately stop making false accusations." Instead, China asserted that Japan's Self-Defense Forces aircraft had "posed a grave risk to aviation safety" by consistently approaching China's training zones. The Chinese statement did not mention a radar lock-on. An official for the Chinese foreign ministry subsequently urged Japan to "halt its dangerous moves of harassing China's routine drills and exercises." Rising Tensions and Broader Context Ties linking Beijing and Japan have soured markedly in recent weeks. This cooling followed PM Takaichi stated that hostilities against Taiwan could lead to the deployment of Japan's military if the situation presented an existential threat to Japan. Takaichi argued that Tokyo could invoke its right to collective self-defence, meaning coming to the aid of an ally. The Prime Minister stated that Japan had to "anticipate the most severe possibilities" regarding the Taiwan Strait. Japan's defence minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, labeled Saturday's encounter as "dangerous and extremely regrettable." In a diplomatic move, the Chinese envoy to Japan, Wu Jianghao, was summoned on Sunday. A senior vice-foreign minister, Funakoshi Takehiro, made a "formal complaint" and demanded the Chinese government to "ensure that similar actions do not recur." Enduring Points of Contention The two nations are also locked in a long-running territorial dispute over a group of islands, called the Diaoyu in China. The tiny, unoccupied islets lie between Okinawa and Taiwan. Additionally, broader geopolitical frictions continue. Tokyo is deepening military and strategic ties with the US and its allies in the Indo-Pacific region, where several countries are engaged in similar territorial and maritime disagreements with China. Beijing, in turn, maintains vast sovereignty claims in adjacent seas, a posture that has drawn international concern.