China’s ‘extremely regrettable and dangerous’ act condemned after new war near-miss | World | News
Fears of a new conflict have flared once again after China was accused of an “extremely regrettable” and “dangerous” action. Japan and Australia have demanded “strict preventive measures” after Chinese military planes reportedly locked radar on Japanese warplanes near Okinawa.
The dispute between Japan and China appears to continue to escalate, as Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said just a month ago that his military might step in if China moved against Taiwan. Japan’s Defense Ministry said the Chinese J-15 fighter jet launched from the Liaoning aircraft carrier near Okinawa on Saturday and “intermittently” targeted Japanese F-15s with its radar on two separate occasions; one in the afternoon for about three minutes and the other in the evening for about 30 minutes.
The ministry did not specify whether the same J-15 was involved in both alleged radar lock incidents. Defense officials claimed to Kyodo News that the Japanese F-15s maintained a safe distance and avoided any actions that could be seen as provocative.
They also said that Japanese airspace was not violated and that there were no injuries.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Japan formally protested the alleged incident, calling it “extremely regrettable” and a “dangerous” action that “exceeded the scope necessary for safe aircraft operations.”
“We lodged a strong protest with the Chinese side and demanded strict preventive measures,” Koizumi said.
Chinese navy spokesman Senior Colonel Wang Xuemeng rejected Japan’s claims and said China would “take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard its security and legitimate rights and interests.”
He added: “We earnestly demanded from the Japanese side that he immediately stop slandering and slandering and strictly restrict his actions on the front line.”
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles described the alleged incident as “deeply concerning”.
“We are deeply concerned by China’s actions over the last 24 hours,” Marles said. “We expect these interactions to be safe and professional.”
Marles added that Australia “does not want the status quo in the Taiwan Strait to change”, that China is the country’s largest trading partner and that it aims to maintain a constructive relationship with Beijing.
