December 9, 2025

Japanese Communist Party Executive Committee Chair Tamura Tomoko, at a press conference in the Diet building on December 8, commented on the latest incident in which Chinese warplanes aimed their radar beams at Air Self-Defense Force jets, and said, “The Chinese fighters’ act is dangerous as it may lead to accidental military clashes and thus is very regrettable. It is necessary for the two countries to deal with the incident calmly.”

The incident happened on November 6, and the Defense Ministry reported it on the following day.

According to the ministry, Chinese J-15 fighter jets launched from the Chinese Navy aircraft carrier Liaoning twice conducted a radar lock-on targeting two ASDF F-15 fighters over international waters southeast of Okinawa Prefecture.

In the wake of the incident, Tokyo and Beijing traded barbs. The most important thing is to prevent the situation from escalating. In order to achieve this, the need is for the two countries to make the best use of their bilateral crisis management structures, including the Japan-China defense liaison mechanism, and to handle the incident in a cool-headed manner through diplomatic as well as military channels.

It is unacceptable for the Japanese side to take advantage of this issue to justify Prime Minister Takaichi’s “Taiwan” remark. It is also unforgivable for Japan and China to use the matter as an excuse to further strengthen their military capabilities.