Politics Japan accuses China of dangerous actions with fighter jets
Chinese military aircraft are said to have targeted Japanese fighter jets with a special radar for target tracking. The Chinese aircraft had used their so-called fire-control radar in two cases on Saturday near the southern Japanese island group of Okinawa, Japan's Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi announced at a press conference.
07.12.2025, 04:40
07.12.2025, 07:46
SDA
He called the incidents "dangerous and extremely regrettable". Japan has lodged a strong protest and called on China to ensure that this does not happen again.
China's navy contradicted Japan's account. According to the statement, the formation around the aircraft carrier "Liaoning" was training in the region as announced. Japanese aircraft had approached the area several times to disrupt the Chinese exercise, according to a statement. Spokesman Wang Xuemeng demanded that Japan stop the slander.
The incidents occurred against the backdrop of an escalating dispute between the two neighboring states over statements made by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Taiwan. Takaichi had said in parliament in early November that a Chinese attack on democratic Taiwan would pose an "existential threat" to Japan, which could lead to Japan exercising its right to self-defense.
China increases pressure on Japan
Beijing is demanding that Takaichi retract her statements and has increased the pressure with travel warnings, canceled flight connections and an import ban on Japanese seafood, among other things. Japan's plan to station missiles on the island of Yonaguni, just 110 kilometers from Taiwan, also met with strong criticism from the Chinese government. China's foreign office stated that Japan was deliberately creating tensions in the region.
According to the Japanese news agency Kyodo, China's navy carried out training flights in the Pacific on Saturday. They had taken off from an aircraft carrier after the ship had passed the waters off Okinawa. This prompted Japan's military to launch fighter jets. Based on the distance between the Japanese and Chinese planes, a defense ministry official in Tokyo said Japan had done nothing that could be considered provocative, according to Kyodo.
