Tokyo says Chinese jets locked radar onto Japan fighters

AFP | Tokyo

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Chinese military aircraft locked radar onto Japanese fighter jets southeast of Okinawa’s main island, Japan’s defence ministry said yesterday. China’s navy said Tokyo’s claim was “completely inconsistent with the facts” and told Japan to “immediately stop slandering and smearing”.

Relations between Tokyo and Beijing have soured following remarks by new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggesting that Tokyo could intervene militarily in any attack on Taiwan.

Chinese J-15 fighter jets twice locked radar on Japanese fighter jets on Saturday, without causing damage or injuries, Japan’s defence ministry said.

Fighter jets use their radar for fire control to identify targets as well as for search and rescue operations.

Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the incident was “dangerous and extremely regrettable”, adding that Japan had lodged “a strong protest” with China.

The two countries have a long-running territorial dispute over the Senkaku Islands, known as the Diaoyu in China. The tiny, uninhabited islands lie between Okinawa and Taiwan, the much larger selfruled island that China also claims.

Beijing summoned Tokyo’s ambassador following Takaichi’s comments last month.