The Department of National Defense (DND) on Friday evening expressed “deep concern” over an incident in which China reportedly illuminated a Japan Air Self-Defense Force aircraft with radar.
According to the Japanese Embassy in the Philippines, the first incident occurred between 4:32 p.m. and 4:35 p.m. on December 6 when J-15 fighter aircraft launched from the Chinese Navy aircraft carrier “Liaoning” intermittently directed radar at JASDF F-15 fighters.
The Japanese aircraft were conducting airspace intrusion countermeasures at the time.
A second incident occurred between 6:37 p.m. and 7:08 p.m. on the same day, involving another J-15 from the Liaoning, which again illuminated a separate JASDF F-15 with radar in the same area.
“China’s latest unsafe and escalatory actions underscore a pattern of reckless behavior that threatens regional stability, undermines established norms, and threatens states conducting lawful and responsible operations,” the DND said in a statement.
“This dangerous act has no place in international airspace and underscores the urgency of upholding the rules-based order that keeps the Indo-Pacific stable,” it added.
The Defense Department said the Philippines “stands with Japan and all like-minded partners who choose transparency, restraint, and adherence to international law over intimidation and provocation.”
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on December 9 confirmed it had monitored two separate Chinese naval formations operating near the eastern seaboard of Luzon, amid rising tensions between China and Japan.
AFP spokesperson for West Philippine Sea (WPS) Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad said the Liaoning aircraft carrier group was detected northeast of Luzon near Okinawa, while a separate amphibious assault ship group sailed south toward Palau and Australia days later.
The two formations were operating independently outside the country’s 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) but remained within AFP’s monitoring range.
