Overview
- Japan’s defense minister said two Chinese J-15 fighters from the carrier Liaoning intermittently locked fire-control radars onto Japanese F-15s southeast of Okinawa on December 6.
- No injuries or damage were reported, and Tokyo characterized the encounters as dangerous and extremely regrettable.
- Vice-Minister Takehiro Funakoshi summoned Ambassador Wu Jianghao to deliver a formal protest and urged Beijing to prevent any recurrence.
- China’s navy denied the allegations as totally contrary to reality and accused Japanese aircraft of disrupting a Chinese training area.
- Australia’s defense minister, Richard Marles, voiced deep concern, as the episode plays out against strained ties linked to Taiwan and the Senkaku/Diaoyu dispute.