Japan Protests China's J-15 Radar Targeting of F-15s Near Okinawa
Japan filed a strong diplomatic protest against China following two separate radar targeting incidents involving military aircraft over international waters southeast of Okinawa on December 6, 2025. According to Japan’s Ministry of Defense, Chinese Navy J-15 fighters launched from the aircraft carrier Liaoning intermittently illuminated Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-15 fighters with fire-control radar during the encounters. The first incident occurred between 16:32 and 16:35 local time, when a People’s Liberation Army Navy J-15 directed radar emissions toward an F-15 conducting routine airspace monitoring and interception duties. A second encounter followed between 18:37 and 19:08, involving a different JASDF F-15 responding to continued Chinese flight operations in the area.