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The Japanese leader, Sanae Takaichi, has pledged to respond "calmly and resolutely" following claims that Chinese military jets targeted with fire-control radar Japanese F-15s southeast of the main island during the weekend.

A Dangerous Incident Reported

As stated by the Japanese defence ministry, Chinese J-15 fighter aircraft operating from the aircraft carrier Liaoning activated its fire-control radar against Japan's F-15s twice on Saturday. This occurred happened at 4:32 p.m. and was repeated about later. Officials stated that a visual sighting was not possible due to the range involved, and confirmed that no damage or casualties were reported.

"This was the first time the Japanese defence ministry has reported such an incident," a report noted. Fighter jets commonly use radar for search and rescue.

Official Objection and Counter-Claims

In response to Tokyo's claims, China's military released a statement rejecting the report as "completely inconsistent with the facts." It urged Tokyo to "cease making false accusations." Conversely, China claimed that Japanese Self-Defense Forces aircraft had "posed a grave risk to aviation safety" by consistently approaching its training zones. The Chinese statement did not mention any radar targeting.

A spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry subsequently urged Japan to "immediately stop its dangerous moves of harassing our normal military exercise and training."

Escalating Strains and Broader Background

Ties linking Beijing and Japan have worsened significantly over the past month. The downturn followed PM Takaichi remarked that an attack on Taiwan could lead to the deployment of Japanese military if such a conflict posed an existential threat to Japan.

She insisted that Tokyo could exercise its right to collective defense, meaning coming to the aid of an ally. She stated that her country had to "anticipate the most severe possibilities" in the Taiwan Strait.

Japan's defence minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, labeled Saturday's encounter as "highly risky and deeply unfortunate." In a diplomatic move, China's ambassador to Japan, Wu Jianghao, was called in the following day.

A senior vice minister for foreign affairs, Funakoshi Takehiro, made a "strong protest" and demanded Beijing to "guarantee that such acts are not repeated."

Enduring Points of Contention

The two nations are also locked in a long-running territorial dispute over the islands, which are known as the Diaoyu in China. These small, unoccupied islands are situated between Okinawa and Taiwan.

Additionally, broader geopolitical tensions continue. Japan is deepening military and strategic ties with American and other partners in the Indo-Pacific area, where several countries have similar territorial and maritime disagreements with Beijing.

Beijing, in turn, maintains extensive sovereignty claims in the South China Sea, activities that has drawn international concern.