Chinese jets directed fire-control radar at Japanese aircraft, Japan says

Japan's Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi holds a press conference at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on November 25. JIJI Press/AFP/Getty Images/File Reuters —

Chinese fighter jets directed their fire-control radar at Japanese aircraft over international waters on Saturday near Japan’s Okinawan islands in two separate incidents that Japan’s defense minister condemned as “dangerous.”

“These radar illumination went beyond what is necessary for the safe flight of aircraft,” Japan’s Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said in a post on X. Japan, he said, had lodged a protest with China over the “regrettable” incident.

A fire-control radar lock is one of the most threatening acts a military aircraft can take because it signals a potential attack, forcing the targeted aircraft to take e