Overview
- Beijing published a recording it says conveys prior radio warnings before the Liaoning’s flight training, while Japan disputes that any formal notices such as NOTAMs were issued and maintains Chinese J-15s locked radar on ASDF F-15s.
- Japan’s Defense Ministry reports two radar illuminations on Dec. 6 over international waters near Okinawa, with locks lasting minutes at ranges of about 50 km and over 110 km, as the Liaoning group conducted roughly 140 launch-and-recovery drills from Dec. 6–8.
- China frames the encounter as routine and lawful training, asserting pilots activated search radars for safety, as Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Germany that Japan is “threatening China militarily.”
- Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told the Diet that Japan is closely monitoring China’s measures and will respond appropriately after her November comment on a Taiwan contingency drew sustained pushback from Beijing.
- In the United States, two House Democrats urged President Trump to back Japan against Chinese coercion and consider tariff relief, pressing for more explicit support as the standoff continues.