Japan Complains After China Fighter Jet Buzzes Patrol Plane

Tokyo has complained to Beijing after a Chinese fighter jet tailed a Japanese patrol aircraft over the weekend, flying as close as 45 meters from the aircraft, according to Japan’s Defense Ministry. 

The Chinese J-15 fighter jet tailed a Japanese P-3C patrol aircraft for about 40 minutes last Saturday over international waters of the Pacific Ocean, a Defense Ministry statement said. A Chinese jet also followed a patrol craft for over 80 minutes the following day, it added. 

The Chinese fighter jet on Saturday made an “unusual maneuver,” flying as close as 45 meters away at the same altitude, the statement said. The Chinese jet on Sunday cut in front of a Japanese aircraft in moves that risked causing an accident, the statement said. The ministry later confirmed that the encounter between the Chinese and Japanese planes was the closest in more than a decade.

Ties between Tokyo and Beijing remain strained as China projects its military presence deeper into the region. The latest incident comes after Japan said that China simultaneously sailed two aircraft carriers, the Shandong and Liaoning, near remote Japanese islands in the Pacific Ocean for the first time over the weekend. 

“We have expressed serious concern over this incident, and sought measures to prevent a similar incident from happening again,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a press conference Thursday, referring to the encounter between the planes. 

“I would like to refrain from making definitive statements about the intentions of these moves by the Chinese military,” he said, adding that the Japanese government will continue to issue warnings as needed. 

No damage or injury resulted from the incident, the statement said.

China’s Ministry of Defense did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment.

The incident marks the first time since 2014 that a Chinese aircraft has flown within close range of a Japanese plane, and the third time overall, according to the Japanese ministry. That year a Chinese fighter jet flew as close as 30 meters from a Japanese plane on two occasions. 

With assistance from Mari Kiyohara and Lucille Liu.

©2025 Bloomberg L.P.

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