Japan's Ministry of Defense summoned the Chinese ambassador on December 7, 2025, and lodged a strong protest after a J-15 fighter jet launched from a Chinese Navy aircraft carrier locked its radar on an Air Self-Defense Force F-15 fighter jet twice on December 6 over the high seas southeast of Okinawa's main island, according to the ministry's announcement that day. The ministry stated that fighter jet radars are used to prepare for missile launches, highlighting the provocative nature of the incident. During the reporting window from 1:45 PM to 4:16 PM UTC on December 7, reports detailed the People's Liberation Army Navy's Liaoning aircraft carrier group sailing north after transiting the Miyako Strait and operating off Japan's coast, as visualized by TaiwanMonitor. The carrier group's movements occur amid tensions between Japan and China over Japan's potential role in a Taiwan contingency and increased Chinese military activity in the Western Pacific, according to TaiwanMonitor's analysis posted on X.
