Japan’s Self-Defense Forces on Monday (8 December) accused China of conducting aggressive military exercises near Japanese waters, a development expected to further intensify the already heated diplomatic dispute between the two East Asian neighbors.
According to Japan, China’s aircraft carrier Liaoning entered the Pacific Ocean on Saturday through waters close to the Okinawa island chain. During the movement, Chinese forces carried out nearly 100 aircraft takeoff and landing drills. Japan also reported that Chinese fighter jets sent radar lock-on signals toward Japanese aircraft monitoring the carrier group—an action typically considered a warning of a possible attack.
Following the incident, Tokyo summoned Chinese Ambassador Wu Jianghao to lodge a formal protest, calling the act “dangerous and regrettable.”
China’s embassy swiftly rejected the allegations, instead accusing Japanese aircraft of approaching the Liaoning at an unsafe distance and disrupting its exercises. The embassy urged Tokyo to “stop spreading falsehoods” and act with restraint to prevent further incidents.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara dismissed China’s counterclaims, saying they were “unacceptable.” He added that Japan would “calmly but firmly” continue monitoring Chinese activities near its territorial waters.
The latest flare-up follows tension triggered last month when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi warned that Japan would respond appropriately if any Chinese military action around Taiwan threatened its national security. Beijing reacted strongly, advising its citizens to avoid traveling to Japan and delaying plans to resume imports of Japanese seafood, halted earlier over the release of treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant.
Taiwan, a self-governed island claimed by China, lies only about 110 kilometers from Japan’s westernmost Okinawa islands.
The U.S. State Department and U.S. Embassy in Tokyo declined to comment on the radar incident. However, U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass expressed support for Tokyo. President Donald Trump has yet to make a statement, as he prepares for a planned trade visit to Beijing in April
