A Chinese fighter jet jammed the fire control radar of Japanese military jets for the first time on Saturday, Japan’s defense ministry said, an incident likely to further inflame tensions between Tokyo and Beijing.
Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi gave details of two episodes of a Chinese J-15 intermittently jamming the radar of Japanese F-15 fighter jets over international waters southeast of Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture at a press conference in Tokyo early Sunday.
“It is very unfortunate that such an incident occurred,” Koizumi said. “We have made a strong complaint to the Chinese side and strongly demanded measures to prevent a recurrence.
The latest incident is set to further fuel tensions between the two nations, which were fueled by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments about Taiwan last month, which have worried other Asia-Pacific countries. Takaichi said a Chinese attack on Taiwan could mean a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, essentially meaning the possibility that Tokyo could deploy its military with other countries in that scenario.
In a statement on its official WeChat account, a spokesman for the Chinese navy said the Japanese Self-Defense Forces aircraft had repeatedly approached and disrupted its fighter jet training, seriously threatening the safety of the flight.
Beijing accused Takaichi of meddling in its internal affairs and issued economic and diplomatic reprisals, demanding that she retract her remark. The Japanese prime minister refused to withdraw his comments, arguing that nothing had changed in Japan’s position, leaving the two sides stuck in a diplomatic stalemate.
On Wednesday, she reiterated Japan’s longstanding position that it understands and respects China’s view of Taiwan, a comment that some Chinese social media users saw as an attempt to reverse her recent remarks.
The first instance of a Chinese aircraft radar locking on a Japanese F-15 occurred within three minutes shortly after 4:30 p.m. Saturday, according to a ministry statement. The second occurred within about 30 minutes about two hours later and targeted another F-15, she said.
According to the statement, the F-15s were coded to check that Chinese aircraft launched from the carrier had not strayed into Japanese airspace.
“The events of last night are disturbing,” Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said at a meeting with Koizumi in Tokyo on Sunday. “We understand that there will be interactions between our respective defense forces and China’s actual defense forces, but our absolute expectation is that those interactions are safe and professional.”
His Japanese counterpart reiterated that Japan will proceed firmly and calmly to ensure peace and stability in the region.
It is unclear whether China’s move was a deliberate action taken in the context of the current dispute or an unrelated incident. Still, there seems to be precedent. In a previous dispute between China and Japan over the sovereignty of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, a Chinese ship locked its fire control radar on a Japanese destroyer in January 2013.
Since Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan on November 7, China has advised its citizens not to travel to Japan, sent letters of protest to the United Nations and reached out to other countries to reaffirm support for the “One China” principle. US President Donald Trump spoke in separate calls with both Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Japan’s Takaichi in late November.
Tokyo has urged the US to give Takaichi more public support amid frustration over the support she has received for her comments in Taiwan, the Financial Times reported, citing Japan’s ambassador to Washington.
The Yomiuri newspaper reported on Sunday that Japanese companies were facing delays in obtaining Chinese permits to import minerals, including rare earths, citing several unidentified government officials.
Takaichi has so far shown no clear signs of taking retaliatory action against China. Takaichi and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi have repeatedly stated that Tokyo’s position remains in line with the Sino-Japanese Joint Declaration of 1972. The joint communiqué stated that Japan understands and respects China’s view that Taiwan is an “inalienable part of its territory”, without explicitly agreeing to the “One China” principle.
With help from Nobuaki Miyai, Paul Jackson and Tian Ying.
This article was generated from an automated news agency source without text modification.
