Japan summons China envoy over ‘fighter jet radar lock’ as tensions surge 

Japan has summoned China’s ambassador over an incident in which Chinese military aircraft allegedly twice locked fire-control radar onto Japanese fighter jets, as tensions between the two countries surge.

The move by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday was to protest against what it called the dangerous and “extremely regrettable” behaviour of the Chinese J-15 fighter jets over international waters southeast of Okinawa’s main island the previous day.

It said China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier fighter jets aimed radar beams at Japanese aircraft scrambled to shadow the vessel – claims denied by the Chinese embassy.

Illuminating aircraft with radar signals a potential attack that could force targeted planes to take evasive measures, making it among the most threatening actions a military aircraft can take.

The summoning of Ambassador Wu Jianghao came amid deeply strained relations between Beijing and Tokyo since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said last month that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan – suggesting that Tokyo would intervene militarily.

The comments by Takaichi, who entered office in October, have enraged Beijing and led to a furious diplomatic dispute.

Beijing has summoned the Japanese ambassador, written to the United Nations, urged citizens to avoid travelling to Japan and renewed a ban on Japanese seafood imports, while cultural events involving Japanese performers and movies have also been hit.

The incident over the weekend provided a setting for the latest flashpoint in the tensions.

Both countries have traded quarrelsome accusations, with the Chinese Navy saying on Sunday that the scrambled Japanese F-15s had repeatedly approached its training area and endangered flight safety, while Japan’s chief government spokesman Minoru Kihara insisted on Monday that those claims were unfounded.

Japan’s military said about 100 take-offs and landings had been conducted from the aircraft carrier as it sailed east into the Pacific Ocean past the Okinawa Islands over the weekend.

Japan would “respond calmly but firmly and continue to monitor the movements of Chinese forces in the waters around our country”, Kihara said, rejecting China’s claim that Japanese aircraft had obstructed safe flight operations.

For its part, the Chinese embassy denied Tokyo’s claims, saying in a statement that “China solemnly demands that Japan stop smearing and slandering, strictly restrain its frontline actions, and prevent similar incidents from happening again.”

Japan hosts the largest foreign deployment of the United States military, including thousands of US Marines stationed in Okinawa.

Washington’s ambassador to Japan has voiced support for Tokyo in the dispute with Beijing, although US President Donald Trump, who is scheduled to travel to China for trade talks next year, has so far stayed out of the dispute.