Tokyo/Beijing, June 14: China and Japan exchanged sharp diplomatic words on Friday after Tokyo accused Chinese fighter jets of flying “unusually close” to a Japanese military patrol plane over the Pacific, prompting Beijing to denounce the encounter as a result of “dangerous behaviour” by Japan.
Japan’s Defence Ministry said two Chinese J-15 fighter jets flew within 45 metres of a Japanese P-3C patrol aircraft on Saturday and Sunday, with one instance lasting up to 80 minutes. Officials said the Chinese jets also cut across airspace just 900 metres ahead of the Japanese plane — a distance the aircraft could cover in seconds at cruising speed — raising the risk of an unintended collision.
“These abnormal approaches can lead to an accidental collision,” Japan’s top government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters. “We have expressed serious concerns to the Chinese side, including through the Chinese ambassador in Tokyo, and urged them to prevent a recurrence.”
The Japanese military personnel involved were not injured, officials confirmed.
China, however, pushed back sharply. Foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said the close encounter was triggered by Japan’s reconnaissance of what Beijing described as “normal military activities” by its forces in international airspace.
“The root cause of the risk to maritime and air security was the close reconnaissance of China’s normal military activities by a Japanese warplane,” Lin said. “The Chinese side urges the Japanese side to stop this kind of dangerous behaviour.”
The incident coincided with the simultaneous movement of two Chinese aircraft carriers — including the Shandong — in the Pacific for the first time, with activity extending into Japan’s exclusive economic zone. China maintained that the deployment was part of routine training, but Tokyo said the maneuvers demonstrated the expanding geographic scope of Beijing’s military.
The latest encounter echoes similar incidents in 2014, when Chinese Su-27 fighters came within 30 metres of Japanese surveillance planes over the East China Sea, prompting a diplomatic standoff.
Analysts say the timing of the Chinese naval and aerial activity could be tied to broader geopolitical calculations.
“Beijing calculated that the United States would be less willing or able to respond militarily at this precise moment, seeing it as an opportune time to demonstrate its expanding military capabilities,” said Daisuke Kawai, director of the Economic Security and Policy Innovation Program at the University of Tokyo.
Tensions between China and U.S. allies in the region have increased in recent years, particularly around disputed airspace and maritime zones in the East and South China Seas. Japan has stepped up aerial surveillance amid these concerns and vowed to defend its territorial sovereignty.
“The government will continue communicating with the Chinese side at various levels, while doing its best to patrol and monitor airspace around our country,” Hayashi said.
