China claims that Japanese fighter jets were interfering with its military exercises, while Japan denies this. The incident raised tensions between the Asian powers.
Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi on Wednesday rejected China’s claim that Japanese armed forces fighter jets targeted Chinese planes with their radar during a recent incident. TASR informs about it based on a report by the Kyodo News agency.
According to Japan’s Defense Ministry, a Chinese J-15 aircraft targeted SDF fighter jets with radar on Saturday, while the Chinese military responded that its fighters also picked up radar signals from Japanese planes.
Military exercises
Koizumi confirmed at a press conference that China had informed Japan in advance of the military exercises with the aircraft carrier Liao-ning. He added that the announcement did not include details of the scale and location of the action in the Pacific Ocean southeast of Okinawa Island. Koizumi reiterated that China did not issue the usual report on such activities, including “aerial mission announcements” or navigational warnings for ships.
He also stressed that it was “natural” for SDF aircraft to strike against Chinese fighter jets that had taken off from the aircraft carrier Liao-ning, given concerns that their operations could violate Japanese airspace.
Call for communication
Japan’s foreign minister said it was essential that Asian neighbors “continually maintain open discussion and communication” as they grapple with “concrete and complex issues”.
Beijing says “frequent close-quarter reconnaissance flights and interference” by Japanese fighter jets during the exercises created security risks, while Tokyo said its planes kept a “safe distance” from Chinese military aircraft.
