chinese aircarft carrier locked Japanese fighter jets , Japan's accusations

Defence affairs ~ By Liu Xuanzun

The Japanese defense minister on Sunday reportedly accused Chinese carrier-based aircraft of locking radar onto Japanese warplanes that were conducting “countermeasures for airspace violations.” 

However, even the Japanese side admitted that the Chinese aircraft did not enter Japanese airspace, and a Chinese expert said that Japan is the perpetrator blaming the victim and a thief crying “stop thief,” with the Japanese warplanes having dangerously approached the Chinese aircraft carrier formation in open waters first, while the Chinese side was forced to take legitimate, professional countermeasures.

At a press conference held in the early hours of Sunday, Japanese defense minister Shinjiro Koizumi claimed that Chinese military aircraft intermittently locked its radar onto Japan Air Self-Defense Force fighter jets twice in open waters southeast of Okinawa Island on Saturday, Japanese media outlet Asahi Shimbun reported on Sunday.

According to the Asahi Shimbun report that cited the Japanese defense ministry, a J-15 fighter jet from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy aircraft carrier Liaoning intermittently locked its radar on two Japan Air Self-Defense Force’s F-15 fighter jets that were conducting “countermeasures for airspace violations.”

The Japanese government claimed on Sunday that the incident was “very regrettable” and has lodged a strong protest with China through both diplomatic and defense authority channels, according to Asahi Shimbun.

However, no Chinese aircraft violated Japanese airspace in the incident, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Citing a Japanese defense ministry representative, the report also claimed that the F-15 did not approach the J-15 at a visually perceptible distance, and there were “considerable distances.”

Song Zhongping, a Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times on Sunday that even the Japanese side admitted that Chinese aircraft did not enter Japanese airspace. It exposed that the Japanese side is the perpetrator playing the victim and shifting blame to the real victim.

The real situation could be like this: the Japanese fighter jets came close to the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning that was legitimately sailing in the open waters, and the Liaoning sortied one or more J-15 fighter jets to conduct monitoring and eventually interception when the Japanese warplanes came too close and posed potential threats, Song said, noting that the Chinese countermeasures were completely legitimate and professional, Song said.

This is a typical case of a thief crying “stop thief,” as the Japanese warplanes were the ones that brought risks for maritime and aerial accidents while the Chinese aircraft carrier formation was conducting legitimate training operations in the open waters, Song said.