Chinese Military Aircraft Locks Radar on ASDF Jets

Tokyo, Dec. 7 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Defense Ministry said Sunday that Chinese military aircraft intermittently locked its radar onto Air Self-Defense Force fighter jets twice over the high seas of the western Pacific southeast of the southernmost Japan prefecture of Okinawa on Saturday afternoon. No personnel were injured and no ASDF aircraft were damaged in the incident, which is expected to lead to further deterioration of relations between Japan and China that have been strained following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks on a potential Taiwan contingency. “It is a dangerous act that exceeds the range necessary for safe aircraft operations and is extremely regrettable,” Takaichi told reporters in Wajima in Ishikawa Prefecture, central Japan, criticizing the incident. “We will closely monitor the Chinese military’s movements in the waters and airspace around our country and make every effort to carry out warning and surveillance activities,” she added. If the radar lock was for “fire control” purposes, a preparatory step for firing missiles, it could have triggered unforeseen incidents like accidental military clashes, critics said. Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Takehiro Funakoshi on Sunday summoned Chinese Ambassador to Japan Wu Jianghao to the Foreign Ministry, lodged a strong protest and demanded strict measures to prevent a recurrence. The Japanese government made a similar demand through defense communication channels. This is the first time the ministry has officially disclosed a radar lock by Chinese military aircraft against an SDF aircraft. Meanwhile, a Chinese navy spokesperson Sunday issued a statement criticizing Japan, saying that the Japanese side is at odds with the facts, urging Tokyo to immediately stop slanderous acts. The ASDF fighter jets harassed the Chinese navy in its training zones and severely endangered flight safety, the statement claimed. The Chinese navy will take necessary measures to safeguard its own security and legitimate rights, it said. According to the ministry, a J-15 fighter jet that took off from the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning, which was sailing about 270 kilometers west of Okidaito Island in Okinawa, intermittently locked its radar onto multiple F-15 fighter jets scrambled from the ASDF Naha Air Base in Okinawa. The incident occurred for about three minutes until around 4:35 p.m. Saturday and again for about 30 minutes until around 7:08 p.m. the same day, the ministry said. The F-15 fighter jets were scrambled in response to a potential intrusion into Japan’s airspace. The radar was directed from a distance where the aircraft could not be visually confirmed, and there was no violation of Japanese airspace. Generally, radars of fighter jets are mounted on the nose and are primarily used for surveillance and fire control. The ministry said the purpose of using radar this time is unclear, but it is believed that it may have been fire control because the irradiation was carried out intermittently. In January 2013, a Chinese navy frigate in the East China Sea directed its fire-control radar at a Maritime SDF destroyer. In June and July of this year, incidents also occurred where Chinese military aircraft made abnormally close approaches to SDF aircraft conducting surveillance. In her parliamentary remarks in November, Takaichi said that China’s possible use of force against Taiwan could constitute a so-called survival-threatening situation for Japan, in which the country can exercise its right to collective self-defense. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]