China's J-15s lock fire-control radar on Japan's F-15s near Okinawa, Tokyo protests

First documented aircraft radar-lock between the two militaries heightens escalation risk near Miyako Strait as Beijing ramps multi-theater operations in the western Pacific.

Japan's Defense Ministry said Sunday that Chinese carrier-based fighter jets directed fire-control radar at Japanese military aircraft in two separate incidents on Saturday, marking the first publicly disclosed radar lock between Chinese and Japanese fighters. The encounters occurred over international waters southeast of Okinawa's main island, near the Miyako Strait, one of the few deep-water passages the People's Liberation Army Navy uses to access the western Pacific.

The incidents represent a tactical escalation in a region already under strain from China's synchronized deployment of naval and coast guard vessels across East Asian waters this month. Fire-control radar illumination is universally understood as a threatening step in military aviation—it signals weapons-employment readiness and can compel immediate evasive action. Moving from close passes to explicit radar targeting raises the stakes even when encounters occur over international waters, creating new pressure on incident-management protocols that have struggled to keep pace with operational tempo.

Competing accounts and verified timeline

Japan's Defense Ministry reported that J-15 fighters launched from China's carrier Liaoning locked fire-control radar on Japanese F-15 interceptors twice on December 6. The first instance occurred approximately 16:32–16:35 local time and lasted about three minutes; the second ran from approximately 18:37–19:08, spanning roughly 30 minutes. The Japanese F-15s had been scrambled to monitor carrier flight operations as the Liaoning, accompanied by three missile destroyers, conducted takeoff and landing drills south of the Okinawan islands.

Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi called the radar locking "dangerous," "extremely regrettable," and "beyond what is necessary for safe aircraft operations." Japan lodged a formal protest with Beijing and emphasized that its aircraft did not breach Chinese airspace and avoided provocations. No breach of Japanese airspace, injuries, or damage were reported by either side.

Beijing denied the accusation outright. PLA Navy spokesperson Senior Colonel Wang Xuemeng said the navy had publicly announced carrier-based flight training east of the Miyako Strait and accused Japanese aircraft of harassment that "seriously interfered" with training and endangered flight safety. The denial follows a familiar pattern—in 2013, Japan said a Chinese warship locked fire-control radar on a Japanese destroyer in the East China Sea; Beijing later accused Japanese jets of locking radar on Chinese fighters in 2016. But Saturday's incidents are believed to be the first aircraft-to-aircraft radar locks publicly reported by Japan.

Geographic and operational context

The Miyako Strait sits at the center of Japan's southwestern island chain and functions as a strategic chokepoint. For the PLA Navy, it is one of the few passages deep enough for carrier and submarine transit into the Pacific; for Japan, it is a defended gateway where air and maritime surveillance are continuous. Okinawa hosts the largest concentration of U.S. forces overseas, but Washington issued no immediate public comment on Saturday's encounters, leaving Tokyo to manage the diplomatic response alone in the hours after the incidents.

The Liaoning's presence and flight operations east of the strait are not unusual—China has incremented carrier drills in these waters over the past two years. What distinguishes Saturday's events is the combination of sustained radar illumination and the operational context: the encounters occurred during the same week that Beijing staged a multi-theater maritime surge that stressed regional intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance networks from the East China Sea to the South China Sea. That surge signaled synchronized capacity across the First Island Chain and forced Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines into elevated monitoring postures.

The radar locks also followed Prime Minister Sanae Takaishi's November warning that a Chinese move against Taiwan threatening Japan's security could draw a Japanese response—rhetoric Beijing publicly criticized. While no direct causal link has been established, the tightened political frame around Taiwan has raised the stakes for every maritime and aerial encounter near Japan's southwestern approaches.

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Members are reading: Analysis of the signaling logic behind radar locks, whether this marks deliberate policy or tactical drift, and the South China Sea dimension.

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What to watch

Several indicators will clarify whether Saturday's radar locks become a new baseline or remain isolated incidents. First, whether Tokyo releases additional data—cockpit audio, radar logs, or flight tracks—and whether Beijing publishes flight announcements or tracks to bolster its denial narrative. Transparency or its absence will signal each side's confidence in its account and willingness to escalate diplomatically.

Second, whether J-15 flight operations east of the Miyako Strait persist in the coming days and whether radar illumination recurs. A single incident can be dismissed as an anomaly; a pattern forces institutional responses. Third, whether Japan activates the 2018 maritime and aerial communication mechanism, or whether Tokyo and Washington issue joint statements specifying "safe and professional" interaction norms. The involvement of allies will indicate whether this is being treated as a bilateral friction point or a broader challenge to regional order. Finally, whether similar aerial interactions repeat in the South China Sea toward Philippine aircraft, which would confirm a theater-wide air signaling campaign rather than a localized flare-up.

Economic interdependence and alliance structures still constrain outright conflict in the western Pacific, but they also create incentives for calibrated coercion. Saturday's radar locks sit at the edge of that calibration, raising the premium on rules-of-the-road that neither Beijing nor Tokyo has yet committed to codifying in binding terms.