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Japan's leader, Sanae Takaichi, has pledged to act "with calm determination" following reports that People's Liberation Army jets locked their radar onto Japan's fighter jets south-east of the primary island over the weekend.

An Dangerous Incident Reported

According to the Japanese Ministry of Defense, Chinese J-15 jets operating from the carrier Liaoning activated their targeting radar on Japanese F-15s on two occasions on Saturday. The first incident took place at 1632 hours and occurred again approximately two hours. Officials stated that visual confirmation could not be obtained because of the range involved, and confirmed that no damage or casualties resulted.

"It marked an unprecedented instance Japan's defence ministry has made public such an incident," one news agency noted. Fighter jets routinely employ radar systems to tracking purposes.

Official Protest and Denials

Reacting to the allegations, the Chinese navy issued a statement dismissing the report as "completely inconsistent with reality." It urged Tokyo to "cease making false accusations." Instead, China claimed that Japan's Self-Defense Forces planes had "posed a grave risk to aviation safety" by repeatedly approaching its exercise areas. The Chinese statement made no reference to a radar lock-on.

An official for the Chinese foreign ministry later called on Japan to "halt its dangerous moves of harassing our normal military exercise and training."

Escalating Tensions and Broader Context

Ties between Beijing and Tokyo have soured markedly over the past month. This cooling came after Prime Minister Takaichi stated that an attack on Taiwan could lead to the deployment of Japan's Self-Defense Forces should the situation posed an existential threat to Japan.

Takaichi argued that Tokyo could exercise its legal authority to collective self-defence, meaning coming to the aid of an ally. She stated that her country had to "anticipate a worst-case scenario" regarding the Taiwan Strait.

The Japanese defence minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, described Saturday's encounter as "dangerous and extremely regrettable." Subsequently, the Chinese ambassador to Japan, Wu Jianghao, was summoned on Sunday.

A senior vice minister for foreign affairs, Funakoshi Takehiro, made a "strong protest" and urged Beijing to "ensure that similar actions are not repeated."

Longstanding Points of Contention

Japan and China have a protracted territorial dispute over a group of islands, called the Diaoyu by Beijing. These tiny, uninhabited islets lie between Okinawa and Taiwan.

Furthermore, broader geopolitical frictions persist. Japan is deepening cooperation with the US and its allies in the Indo-Pacific area, a region where several countries have their own maritime) disagreements with China.

China, in turn, maintains vast sovereignty claims in adjacent seas, activities that has prompted international concern.