Japan says Chinese fighter jets risked collision after close encounter over Pacific

“The government has raised serious concerns with the Chinese side, including to the Chinese ambassador in Tokyo, through the vice minister of foreign affairs, and has strongly urged them to prevent such incidents from recurring,” cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a news briefing on Thursday.

Japan “will continue to spare no effort to ensure vigilance and surveillance activities in the airspace and waters surrounding Japan in order to resolutely defend Japan’s territorial waters, airspace and territorial rights,” he added.

Photos shared by Japan’s defence ministry showed a J-15 fighter jet flying dangerously close and parallel to the surveillance aircraft. At one point, the J-15 crossed nearly 900 metres in front of the P-3C’s flight path.

While declining to comment on any Chinese military intention behind the dangerous manoeuvres, a Japanese government spokesperson claimed that such “unusual close approaches by Chinese military aircraft could potentially lead to accidental collisions”.

Japanese officials delayed the public disclosure of the recent close encounters with Chinese planes in order to interview the P-3C’s crew and assess the flight data, The Japan Times reported.

The Japanese navy sighted two Chinese aircraft carriers conducting simultaneous operations in the Pacific for the first time over the weekend, in a move signalling Beijing’s intention to expand its blue water capabilities.

Liaoning and Shandong were seen operating in separate areas of the Pacific Ocean, the Japanese defence ministry said.

The Shandong strike group was seen carrying out what appeared to be takeoff and landing operations of its fighter jets and helicopters about 500km southwest of Iwo Jima and north of Okinotori. The Liaoning group was located 300km southwest of Minamitori Island on Saturday and slightly farther away on Sunday. It was also operating its air wings.

The carriers were found in the blue waters beyond Japan’s Second Island Chain.

Considered the second line of defence in the event of a military escalation by China, the chain comprises a strategic group of islands in the middle of the West Pacific, including a US military base in Guam, around 2,700km from Taiwan.

Confirming the presence of its carriers in the East Asian waters, Beijing on Tuesday said Liaoning and Shandong carriers were carrying out the training “to test the forces’ capabilities in far seas defence and joint operations”.

The exercises were a “routine training” without Beijing targeting any specific country, Chinese navy spokesperson, senior captain Wang Xuemeng, said.

Since May, China has been increasing its presence in East Asian waters by sending an unusually large number of naval and coast guard vessels to the region. At the same time, it has been conducting daily military drills in the Taiwan Strait, which critics have described as staged exercises aimed at escalating military pressure on the self-governed island.