Beijing’s actions are “not conducive to regional peace,” US and Japanese defense chiefs said during a call after Chinese aircraft locked radar on Japanese jets near Taiwan, Tokyo said yesterday.
The radar incident on Saturday last week came after comments by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Taiwan that infuriated China.
It was followed this week by Chinese-Russian air patrols around Japan.
Photo: Bloomberg
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi “exchanged candid views on the increasingly severe security situation in the Indo-Pacific region, including the radar incident,” the Japanese Ministry of Defense said after the call.
They “expressed serious concern over any actions to increase regional tensions, as China’s actions are not conducive to regional peace and stability,” it added.
Koizumi on X said he told Hegseth that China was “disseminating information that is completely contrary to the facts” about the radar incident.
“However, Japan has made clear that it does not seek escalation and that we are responding calmly while making necessary rebuttals, and we are keeping the door open for dialogue,” Koizumi added.
Hegseth’s office said they had discussed China’s military activities as well as “Japan’s efforts to increase its defense spending and strengthen its capabilities.”
Last week, J-15 jets from China’s aircraft carrier Liaoning twice locked radar on Japanese aircraft that had scrambled in international waters near Okinawa, Japan said.
Fighter jets use their radar for fire control to identify targets as well as for search and rescue operations.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday accused Japan of sending the jets “to intrude into the Chinese training area without authorization, conduct close-range reconnaissance and harassment, create tense situations, and... maliciously hype up the situation.”
Two Russian Tu-95 nuclear-capable bombers on Tuesday flew from the Sea of Japan to rendezvous with two Chinese H-6 bombers in the East China Sea, then conducted a joint flight around the country, Japan said, adding that it scrambled fighter jets in response.
A day later, Japanese and US air forces conducted their own joint air drills, Tokyo said.
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