Global & US Headlines
Chinese J-15s Target Japanese F-15s; Tokyo Protest Spurs 3-Month Airline Refund Extension
After two radar-lock incidents on 6 Dec 2025 near Okinawa, Japan summoned China’s ambassador on 7 Dec and, within 48 hours, China’s main airlines prolonged no-penalty refunds for Japan flights through 28 Mar 2026.
Focusing Facts
- Japan’s MoD says J-15s from the carrier Liaoning locked fire-control radar on JASDF F-15s for ≈3 min at 16:32 and for ≈30 min between 18:37–19:08 on 6 Dec 2025.
- Air China, China Eastern, China Southern, plus four smaller carriers, canceled 1,900 December flights (≈40 % of China-Japan capacity) and offered full refunds/changes for tickets booked up to 28 Mar 2026.
- Vice-FM Funakoshi lodged a formal protest with Ambassador Wu on 7 Dec 2025—the first jet-to-jet radar lock protest since a 2013 ship-to-ship incident.
Context
Beijing and Tokyo have lurched between rapprochement (1978 Peace & Friendship Treaty) and flare-ups such as the 2010 Senkaku trawler collision and the 2013 fire-control radar incident. The current episode, triggered by PM Takaichi’s Taiwan pledge, echoes the 1995-96 Taiwan Strait crisis when Asian airlines also slashed routes amid sabre-rattling. Structurally, it reflects two converging trends: China’s blue-water navy asserting presence via carriers, and Japan’s post-2022 remilitarisation that links Taiwan’s fate to its own security. On a century horizon, the incident is a data-point in the slow erosion of the 1972 normalization framework—tourism, once a stabiliser with 6.9 m Chinese visitors to Japan in 2024, can now be dialled up or down as diplomatic leverage. Whether this moment hardens an East Asian armed deterrence spiral or fades like the 2013 radar spat depends less on the rhetoric than on the institutionalisation of crisis hotlines and the economic interdependence both sides still depend on.
Perspectives
Japanese and Western mainstream media
Japanese and Western mainstream media — China’s radar lock on Japanese fighter jets is portrayed as a dangerous provocation that warrants Tokyo’s sharp diplomatic protest and heightened vigilance. Coverage leans toward Japan’s security narrative, spotlighting Chinese aggression while giving scant attention to whether Japanese surveillance flights may have contributed to the encounter.
Outlets amplifying Beijing’s rebuttal
Outlets amplifying Beijing’s rebuttal — The incident is framed as a disputed claim in which China says its carrier drills were ‘normal’ and that Japanese aircraft endangered the exercise, making Tokyo’s protest baseless. By foregrounding official Chinese statements and casting doubt on Japan’s version, these reports echo Beijing’s messaging and under-report independent verification of the radar lock.
Business and travel-focused Asian press
Business and travel-focused Asian press — Prolonged China-Japan tensions are chiefly significant for their economic fallout, prompting Chinese airlines to extend full refunds and causing mass cancellations of Japan-bound trips. The commercial lens downplays the strategic and military roots of the dispute, prioritising tourism statistics and airline policies over analysis of the geopolitical drivers.