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The Japanese prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has pledged to act "with calm determination" following claims that Chinese military jets acquired a radar lock on Japanese fighter jets south-east of Okinawa's primary island during the weekend.

An Concerning Incident Detailed

Per the Japanese defence ministry, Chinese J-15 fighter aircraft from the aircraft carrier Liaoning engaged their targeting radar against Japan's F-15s on two occasions on Saturday. This occurred happened at 4:32 p.m. and occurred again approximately two hours. The ministry noted that a visual sighting could not be obtained due to the distance, adding that no damage or injuries were reported.

"This was an unprecedented instance the Japanese Ministry of Defense has reported an event of this nature," one news agency stated. Military aircraft routinely employ radar systems to target identification.

Official Objection and Denials

In response to Tokyo's claims, China's military released a statement dismissing the report as "totally contrary to reality." It urged Japan to "immediately stop slandering and smearing." Instead, Beijing asserted that Japan's SDF planes had "posed a grave risk to flight safety" by repeatedly approaching its training zones. The Chinese statement did not mention a radar lock-on.

An official for China's foreign ministry later urged Japan to "halt its dangerous moves of harassing China's normal military exercise and training."

Rising Strains and Regional Background

Ties linking Beijing and Tokyo have soured significantly over the past month. This cooling came after Prime Minister Takaichi stated that hostilities against Taiwan could trigger the deployment of Japanese military if the situation posed an extreme danger to the nation.

Takaichi insisted that Tokyo had the right to invoke its legal authority to collective defense, which involves coming to the aid of an ally. She stated that Japan had to "anticipate the most severe possibilities" in the Taiwan Strait.

Japan's defence minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, labeled the radar incident as "highly risky and deeply unfortunate." Subsequently, the Chinese envoy to Japan, Wu Jianghao, was called in the following day.

A senior vice-foreign minister, Funakoshi Takehiro, lodged a "formal complaint" and demanded the Chinese government to "guarantee that similar actions do not recur."

Longstanding Disputes

Japan and China have a protracted sovereignty disagreement over the islands, called the Diaoyu by Beijing. These small, uninhabited islets lie in waters between Okinawa and Taiwan.

Furthermore, broader geopolitical tensions continue. Tokyo is strengthening military and strategic ties with the US and other allies in the Indo-Pacific area, where a number of nations have similar territorial and maritime disagreements with Beijing.

China, for its part, asserts extensive sovereignty claims in the South China Sea, a posture that has prompted criticism and legal challenges.