Global & US Headlines
PLA J-15 Locks Fire-Control Radar on Japanese F-15s near Okinawa, Triggering Diplomatic Protests
On 6 Dec 2025, a Chinese carrier-borne J-15 twice illuminated Japanese F-15s with fire-control radar southeast of Okinawa, the first such air-to-air radar lock between the two nations, sparking immediate protests from Tokyo.
Focusing Facts
- Japan’s Defence Ministry reports the radar locks lasted ~3 minutes at 16:30 and ~30 minutes around 18:30 local time on 6 Dec 2025.
- Japan summoned Chinese Ambassador Wu Jianghao on 7 Dec 2025 to file a formal protest, while China issued a counter-protest denying the claim.
- The J-15s launched from the aircraft carrier Liaoning, which was operating with three destroyers east of the Miyako Strait during scheduled drills.
Context
Great-power forces playing chicken over the Ryukyus is not new: in January 2013 a Chinese frigate lit up a Japanese destroyer’s radar, and in 1983 Soviet interceptors similarly locked on U.S. RC-135s over the Sea of Japan—both standoffs stopped short of firing but edged norms toward acceptability. The 2025 incident fits a decade-long trend of PLA gray-zone tactics—measured escalations just below the shooting threshold—to probe alliance responses and contest Japan’s administrative control of the Senkaku/Diaoyu area while pressuring any coalition willing to aid Taiwan. Viewed on a 100-year arc, such radar locks are tactical sparks in a strategic shift: China’s blue-water navy and carrier force are now routinely operating beyond the first island chain, confronting a Japan that is re-arming and weaving tighter security networks with Australia and the U.S. Whether this episode becomes footnote or fuse depends less on the weekend’s brinkmanship than on whether both sides institutionalize crisis-management channels; absent that, the pattern echoes the pre-1914 naval rivalry where repeated “incidents” normalized risk until one finally miscalculated.
Perspectives
Western mainstream media
e.g., Bloomberg via gCaptain, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, CNBC — Present the radar-lock as an aggressive Chinese provocation that heightens regional insecurity and validates Japan’s firm protest alongside allied concern. Tends to foreground Japanese and allied official statements while downplaying or framing China’s rebuttal as mere denial, aligning with U.S.–Japan security interests.
Asia-Pacific regional outlets offering balanced coverage
e.g., Free Malaysia Today, NewstalkZB, CNA — Describe the incident as a serious but disputed encounter, stressing both Japan’s ‘dangerous’ claim and China’s assertion that Japanese jets harassed routine PLA drills, and urging calm. The bid to show ‘both sides’ may understate the gravity of a radar lock and create a false equivalence, reflecting incentives to maintain access and avoid alienating either Beijing or Tokyo.
Alternative financial & commentary sites
e.g., Zero Hedge, FXStreet — Frame the episode as a near-war flashpoint illustrating the fragility of East Asian security and cite it mainly for its dramatic or market-moving implications. Often sensationalizes conflict narratives to drive traffic or link them to market speculation, relying on secondary reports without on-the-ground corroboration.