Japan’s Defense Ministry on Thursday voiced grave alarm over an incident wherein a Chinese J-15 fighter jet flew dangerously close to a P-3C maritime surveillance aircraft over international waters in the Pacific. This latest intercept was part of a string of harassing interceptions over an increasingly contentious weekend between Tokyo and Beijing and underlines increasing military tension between them.
On Saturday afternoon, a Chinese jet launched from aircraft carrier Shandong tailed a Japanese P-3C for approximately 40 minutes, coming as close as 45 meters (approx 150 feet) before moving away in one passage and flying side-by-side at similar altitude. For more details, see en.wikipedia.org +13, wsj com and stripes com
On the following day, two J-15s repeated this behavior again by shadowing a Japanese aircraft for around 80 minutes and crossing its flight path at an approximate distance of 900 meters; these reports can be found at startribune.com, wsj.com and timesunion.com respectively.
No damage occurred, but Japanese officials warned that maneuvers posed a severe risk of accidental collision. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi stressed the urgent prevention required by such “abnormal approaches.” These included Timesofindia.indiatimes.com, The Guardian and NBC RightNow Right Now.
Context of Rising Tensions
These incidents occurred amid rising tensions as China deployed two aircraft carriers — Shandong and Liaoning — for their first-ever deployment in the Western Pacific near Japan, operating near Okinawa and Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). For more information see Wikipedia or Reuters for updates
Analysts note China’s military deployment as evidence of its growing capability to project power beyond the first island chain and alter strategic balances in the region, such as those set out by wsj.com, apnews.com and theguardian.com +7
Japan lodged an official diplomatic protest and summoned China’s ambassador in Tokyo, informing them of its serious concerns, reports Reuter’s and The Guardian respectively.
The Japanese Defense Ministry is making strides to strengthen regional air and maritime monitoring capabilities, including mobile radar units for remote Pacific islands.
China’s Rebuttal
China’s Foreign Ministry justified their actions as lawful military training and placed responsibility on Japan for creating the incident by conducting “close reconnaissance” of Chinese exercises (startribune.com +5; theguardian +5, AP News +5)
This year’s incident recalls previous dangerous intercepts: in 2014, Chinese jets flew within 30 meters of Japanese vessels in the East China Sea (sources: APN News/The Defense Post/Reuters).
Similar conflicts have been experienced by U.S., Canadian, and Australian surveillance flights.
Strategic Implications The timing–coinciding with greater U.S.-China competition–suggests Beijing may be testing regional response thresholds and expanding maritime reach by conducting military exercises at this time.
Wsj.com +2
AP News +2 (in English and Chinese). For more details visit Stripes.com (+2).
Tokyo, in response, has strengthened defensive postures and enhanced military coordination with allies like the United States.
Looking Ahead Japan will likely seek to improve bilateral “air incident” communication mechanisms to prevent future near-misses. Defense Minister Gen Nakatani stated his country’s dedication to safeguarding its airspace, waters and EEZ for continued prosperity (AP News/the Guardian/Times Union/Star Tribune etc).
Tokyo will likely press China to end carrier operations near Japanese-controlled zones.
As both countries step up naval and air operations in the Pacific, the risk of potentially harmful miscalculation increases significantly. Strengthening communication protocols and diplomatic engagement will be essential to avoiding an actual crisis situation.