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The Japanese leader, Sanae Takaichi, has pledged to respond "calmly and resolutely" after claims that Chinese military jets locked their radar onto Japan's F-15s south-east of Okinawa's primary island over the past weekend.

A Serious Aerial Encounter Reported

According to the Japanese defence ministry, Chinese J-15 fighter aircraft from the carrier Liaoning engaged its targeting radar against Japan's F-15s on two occasions on Saturday. This occurred happened 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 there was no damage or casualties were reported.

"This was an unprecedented instance the Japanese Ministry of Defense has made public such an incident," a report stated. Fighter jets commonly use radar for target identification.

Diplomatic Objection and Counter-Claims

In response to the allegations, the Chinese navy issued a statement dismissing them as "completely inconsistent with the facts." It demanded Japan to "immediately stop slandering and smearing." Conversely, China asserted that Japanese Self-Defense Forces aircraft had "posed a grave risk to aviation safety" by consistently approaching its training zones. The Chinese statement did not mention a radar lock-on.

A spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs later urged Japan to "halt its provocative actions of interfering with China's normal military exercise and training."

Escalating Tensions and Broader Background

Relations linking China and Tokyo have soured markedly in recent weeks. This cooling came after PM Takaichi remarked that hostilities against Taiwan might lead to the deployment of Japanese military if such a conflict posed an existential threat to the nation.

She insisted that Tokyo could invoke its right to collective self-defence, meaning assisting an ally. The Prime Minister emphasized that Japan had to "anticipate a worst-case scenario" in the Taiwan Strait.

The Japanese Defense Minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, described the encounter as "dangerous and extremely regrettable." In a diplomatic move, the Chinese ambassador to Japan, Wu Jianghao, was called in the following day.

A senior vice minister for foreign affairs, Funakoshi Takehiro, lodged a "strong protest" and demanded Beijing to "guarantee that such acts do not recur."

Enduring Points of Contention

Japan and China are also locked in a protracted sovereignty disagreement over the islands, called the Diaoyu by Beijing. These tiny, uninhabited islands lie in waters between Okinawa and Taiwan.

Furthermore, broader geopolitical frictions persist. Tokyo has been strengthening cooperation with American and its partners in the Asia-Pacific region, a region where a number of nations are engaged in their own maritime) disputes with Beijing.

Beijing, for its part, maintains vast sovereignty claims in adjacent seas, activities that has prompted international concern.