Japan Jets Enter China’s Air Zone After Takaichi Vows ‘Revenge’ Over Radar Lock-On

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Japan has strongly rejected China’s accusation that its Air Self-Defense Force jets “harassed” Chinese aircraft near Okinawa. On December 8, Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara dismissed Beijing’s claims as “unfounded,” following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s statement a day earlier that Chinese fighter jets had directed weapons-control radar at Japanese aircraft. China denies the radar-lock allegation, but Tokyo has lodged a formal protest and demanded steps to prevent further incidents as tensions rise in the region.  #japanvschina  #china  #radarincident #okinawa  #militarytensions  #airforce  #asiasecurity  #defensenews #cruxcollabwithcnn

Transcript

00:00Japan says its fighter jets are not the aggressors.

00:09They are defending national airspace against increasingly risky Chinese maneuvers.

00:15On 7 December, Prime Minister Sinai Takaichi revealed that Chinese jets had twice-directed weapons-control radar

00:24at Japanese Air Self-Defense Force aircraft southeast of Okinawa near the approaches to Taiwan.

00:31Japanese pilots say they were suddenly painted by the same type of radar used to guide missiles,

00:38a move Tokyo calls dangerous and far beyond what is needed for safe flight.

00:44Beijing immediately rejected the accusation, claiming its carrier-based fighters were carrying out routine training

00:52and that Japanese jets repeatedly approached and disrupted the exercise zone.

00:57China's foreign ministry warned Tokyo to stop harassing normal drills

01:03and accuse Japan of irresponsible hype and political manipulation.

01:08But Takaichi doubled down, vowing that Japan would not back off

01:13and promising what she called a firm response to any radar lock-on against her self-defense forces.

01:20On 8 December, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara stepped before cameras to hit back at Beijing's narrative.

01:29He said Japanese fighters kept a safe distance from the Chinese formation off Okinawa

01:35and categorically rejected the claim that they had endangered Chinese aircraft.

01:40Kihara called China's allegation of harassment unfounded, stressing that the real danger was the Chinese decision

01:48to switch on fire control radar against Japanese jets.

01:53Tokyo has now summoned China's ambassador Bujiangfau to lodge what it describes as a strong protest

02:01and demand concrete steps to prevent a repeat.

02:05Behind the scenes, officials see the incident as part of a broader Chinese push to test Japan's resolve around the Senkaku Islands,

02:14the Rukuyu chain, and the sea corridors that link Okinawa to Taiwan.

02:19For Takaichi's government, already warning that a Taiwan conflict could become an existential crisis for Japan,

02:27the radar lock-on is being framed as proof that the threat is no longer theoretical.

02:33But while Tokyo hardens its stance, many people on Okinawa fear they are the ones who will pay the price.

02:40Over the same weekend, hundreds of protesters rallied outside the U.S. Marine Corps' Camp Schwab and the planned Hinoko base site,

02:50carrying banners reading,

02:51We won't let Okinawa become a battlefield again, and close all bases.

02:58Speakers warned that expanding American facilities under the U.S.-Japan alliance is a system that invites war,

03:06turning the Rukuyu Islands into the front line if China and Japan ever clash.

03:12Residents point to decades of accidents, crimes, and noise linked to foreign troops.

03:18But say the new fear is strategic.

03:20If conflict erupts over Taiwan or East China Sea, missiles aimed at…

03:26Activists argue that real security means reducing the military footprint,

03:31not building more runways and ammunition depots within range of Chinese rockets.

03:37Their message is blunt.

03:39Both Beijing's radar locks and Washington's base expansion make Okinawa less safe, not more.

03:47As the war of words rages, Chinese forces are moving in parallel at sea.

03:52Earlier this year, the People's Liberation Army launched Straight Thunder 2025A,

03:58a set of live-fire and simulated strike drills around Taiwan,

04:03practicing blockades, rocket barrages, and precision attacks on ports and energy facilities.

04:09New exercises announced in the Taiwan Strait and East China Sea keep that pressure alive,

04:16sending fighters, bombers, and warships through the same air and sea lanes Japan's jets now patrol.

04:23Taiwan's Coast Guard and Defense Ministry accused China of using vague language about routine drills

04:30to disguise harassment of Taiwanese and allied aircraft, fishing boats, and merchant traffic.

04:37For Tokyo, any Chinese move to normalize combat training in this corridor effectively squeezes Japan's southern flank,

04:46and shortens Beijing's response time in a crisis.

04:49That is why officials in Tokyo see the radar incident not as an isolated provocation,

04:55but as one piece of a wider campaign to rewrite the rules of the sky and sea around Taiwan and Okinawa.

05:04Japanese pilots flying with missile radar pointed at them,

05:08Chinese commanders insisting they are the ones being harassed,

05:12U.S. bases expanding as locals chant that they invite war,

05:17and Chinese drills tightening around Taiwan.

05:20This is the new normal in the Western Pacific.

05:23Every protest note, every scramble from Okinawa, and every live-fire drill in the Strait

05:29adds another layer of risk that one misjudged maneuver will turn an electronic lock-on

05:36into the first real shot of a conflict no one claims to want.

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