Latest news with #ChineseFighterJets
LBCI
a day ago
- Politics
- LBCI
China condemns 'dangerous' move by Japanese plane after close approach report
Beijing slammed on Thursday what it called "dangerous behavior" by a Japanese military plane over the Pacific after Tokyo said Chinese fighter jets flew "unusually close" to its aircraft at the weekend. "The root cause of the risk to maritime and air security was the close reconnaissance of China's normal military activities by a Japanese warplane," foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said. "The Chinese side urges the Japanese side to stop this kind of dangerous behavior," he added. AFP
Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Japan says Chinese jets made ‘unusually close' approach
Tokyo said Thursday it had expressed serious concerns to Beijing after Chinese fighter jets flew 'unusually close' to a Japanese military patrol plane in the Pacific last weekend. The incident followed the sighting of two Chinese aircraft carriers sailing in the Pacific simultaneously for the first time, including in Japan's economic waters. Japan said this week that the aircraft carriers' activity -- described by China as 'routine training' -- showed the expanding geographic scope of Beijing's military. A Japanese defense ministry spokesman told AFP on Thursday that Chinese fighter jets had flown 'unusually close' to the Japanese patrol plane. On Saturday, a Chinese J-15 fighter jet from the Shandong aircraft carrier followed a Japanese P-3C patrol plane for 40 minutes, then on Sunday two J-15 jets did the same for 80 minutes, the spokesman said. 'During these long periods, the jets flew unusually close to the P-3C, and they flew within 45 meters' of the patrol plane at the same altitude on both days, he said. On Sunday, the Chinese jets cut across airspace around 900 meters in front of the Japanese patrol plane -- a distance that a P-3C can reach within a few seconds at cruising speed, the spokesman added. 'Such abnormal approaches can lead to an accidental collision, so we have expressed serious concerns' to the Chinese side, including Beijing's ambassador in Japan Wu Jianghao, and asked them to prevent a repeat, top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters. 'The government will continue communicating with the Chinese side at various levels, while doing its best to patrol and monitor airspace around our country in order to defend Japan's territorial soil, waters and airspace,' he said. Japanese military personnel had not been injured, the defense ministry said in a statement. Similar incidents were last reported over a decade ago in May and June 2014, when Chinese Su-27 fighter jets flew within 30 meters (100 feet) of Japan's military planes in the East China Sea. At the time Japan summoned the Chinese ambassador while the two sides traded accusations of blame. Daisuke Kawai, director of the University of Tokyo's economic security and policy innovation program, told AFP earlier this week that the timing of the aircraft carrier movements could be linked to US-China economic tensions. 'Beijing calculated that the United States would be less willing or able to respond militarily at this precise moment, seeing it as an opportune time to demonstrate its expanding military capabilities,' he said.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Chinese fighter jets flew unusually close to Japanese patrol planes
TOKYO, June 12 (Reuters) - Chinese fighter jets flew unusually close to Japanese military patrol planes over the weekend as two Chinese aircraft carriers operated in the Pacific Ocean for the first time, Japan's defence ministry said on Thursday. On Saturday, a Chinese J-15 jet from the aircraft carrier Shandong chased a Japanese P-3C patrol aircraft for about 40 minutes, the ministry said. On Sunday, a J-15 chased a P-3C for 80 minutes, crossing in front of the Japanese aircraft at a distance of only 900 meters (2,950 feet), it said. At one point on both days, a Chinese J-15 flew as close as 45 meters to a Japanese aircraft, the ministry said. The P-3C aircraft, belonging to Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force based in the island of Okinawa, were conducting surveillance over international waters in the Pacific, the ministry said. "Such abnormal approaches by Chinese military aircraft could potentially cause accidental collisions, and we have expressed serious concern and strongly requested prevention of recurrence," the ministry said, attaching close-up images of the J-15 jet it took on Sunday. Earlier this week, Tokyo said the Shandong and another Chinese carrier the Liaoning were conducting simultaneous operations in the Pacific for the first time, describing it as a move signifying Beijing's intention to further widen its capabilities beyond its borders. Beijing on Tuesday said the operations were a "routine training" exercise that did not target specific countries. In 2014, Tokyo said it spotted Chinese military aircraft flying as close as 30 metres to its military aircraft over the East China Sea and protested to Beijing.
Japan Times
2 days ago
- Japan Times
Chinese fighter jets in close encounters with MSDF patrol plane over Pacific
Chinese fighter jets risked collisions with a Maritime Self-Defense Force P-3C surveillance plane over the high seas in the Pacific Ocean in two close calls over the weekend that the Defense Ministry in Tokyo has characterized as 'abnormal approaches.' The ministry said late Wednesday that a MSDF P-3C patrol plane monitoring China's Shandong aircraft carrier in the Pacific was followed by a Chinese J-15 that took off from the carrier for about 40 minutes Saturday and 80 minutes Sunday. On Saturday, a J-15 fighter, which images showed was armed with missiles, flew to within 45 meters parallel of the surveillance plane — a short enough distance to risk a collision. The following day, a J-15 crossed approximately 900 meters in front of the P-3C's flight path, a distance covered in a matter of seconds. 'These kinds of unusual approaches by Chinese military aircraft pose a risk of accidental collisions,' the ministry said. Although there was no damage to the Japanese plane or injuries among its crew, officials said it had 'raised serious concerns' with the Chinese side, urging them to prevent such incidents from recurring. A Chinese J-15 fighter jet conducts what Japan's Defense Ministry said was an "abnormal approach" to a Maritime Self-Defense Force P-3C surveillance plane over the high seas in the Pacific Ocean on Sunday. | DEFENSE MINISTRY / VIA JIJI This was believed to be the third time since 2014 that Chinese aircraft have made such close approaches to Self-Defense Forces planes. All previous incidents occurred over the East China Sea. The public disclosure of the latest incidents was delayed for several days in order to interview the P-3C's crew and analyze the flight data, media reports citing ministry officials said. The incidents came as China's two operating aircraft carriers — the Shandong and Liaoning — were spotted conducting simultaneous operations in the Pacific for the first time, the ministry announced earlier in the week. Beijing confirmed late Tuesday that the two carriers had conducted the training "to test the forces' capabilities in far seas defense and joint operations," Chinese Navy spokesperson Senior Capt. Wang Xuemeng said, calling the exercises "routine training" that did not target any specific country. Beijing has ramped up military exercises and training in recent months, highlighting its growing prowess ever farther from its shores. The vast waters of the western Pacific Ocean have long been seen as one weak point in Japan's defense architecture, and the government, as part of its 2022 Defense Buildup Program, is working to deploy mobile early warning and control radars to the area to strengthen air defense capabilities there.
CNN
12-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
‘We hope sense will prevail,' Pakistan's foreign minister says, as delicate India-Pakistan ceasefire holds
As tensions ratcheted up over the last week of fighting, Pakistan did not consider deploying nuclear warheads to strike India, the country's foreign minister Ishaq Dar told CNN on Monday. In his first interview since India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire Saturday, Dar said Islamabad 'had no choice' but to launch strikes in 'self-defense' following India's May 7 cross-border attacks. Last week's escalatory tit-for-tat strikes marked the worst fighting between the two nuclear-armed nations since 1971, killing dozens and deepening fears of a wider conflict. Dar referred to India's strikes as a 'war' and a 'wishful attempt to establish its hegemony' in the long-disputed Kashmir region – but said that the nuclear option was never on the table. 'There are certain times when you have to take very serious decisions,' he said, 'We were very sure that our conventional capacity and capabilities are strong enough that we will beat them both in air and on ground.' After the initial attack last Wednesday, Pakistan claimed it had used Chinese-made fighter jets to shoot down five Indian Air Force jets, including three Rafales, sophisticated French-made jets that New Delhi acquired only a few years ago. A French intelligence source told CNN that Pakistan had downed at least one Indian Rafale. India has not responded to those claims, which CNN has been unable to verify. Following several days of fighting, Islamabad and New Delhi agreed to a US-brokered truce on Saturday, as explosions reportedly ripped through parts of Kashmir over one final burst of strikes. While the agreement has so far appeared to hold, Dar told CNN that long-term negotiations between the two parties are 'not done yet.' 'We still hope sense will prevail,' he said. Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that India has 'only paused our responsive attack on Pakistan's terror and military hubs.' 'Operation Sindoor has drawn a new line under the fight against terrorism – this is a new phase, a new normal,' he said, adding, 'If there is a terror attack on India, we will give a jaw-breaking response.' 'India will not tolerate any nuclear blackmail,' Modi cautioned. The Indian leader asserted the ferocity of his country's attacks pushed Pakistan to look for 'ways to save themselves' by reaching a ceasefire deal. 'They were calling the world to reduce tensions after being completely destroyed,' he said. In Islamabad, when asked about the impetus for the unexpected deal, Dar told CNN that 'It is in the interest of everybody to not delay or to leave such issues beyond a certain reasonable time.' '(The Indians) had seen what happened in the sky,' he added. 'They could see how serious the damage was.' There was no direct contact between Indian or Pakistani officials, Dar said, contradicting a previous assertion made by India's director general of military operations, who reportedly received a message from his counterpart in Pakistan during the talks. Instead, Dar said that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio passed on the message that India was ready to stop the fighting. Rubio said in a Saturday statement that he and US Vice President JD Vance had spoken to the political and military leadership in India and Pakistan to secure agreement before the situation deteriorated further. Dar told CNN on Monday that Pakistan was looking forward to establishing a path for long-term peace and security that would provide 'dignity for both sides.' The Muslim-majority region of Kashmir has been a flashpoint in India-Pakistan relations since both countries gained their independence from Britain in 1947. The two nations to emerge from the bloody partition of British India – Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan – both claim Kashmir in full and, months after becoming independent, fought their first of three wars over the territory. The divided region is now one of the most militarized places in the world. Dar pointed to Kashmir as 'the root cause of this regional instability' and called for the region's 'future self-determination.' India has long accused Pakistan of harboring militant groups in Kashmir that conduct attacks across the border against Indian security forces, a charge Islamabad has rejected. India launched its cross-border strikes last week in the wake of a tourist massacre in the Indian administered part of Kashmir in April. Dar reiterated that Pakistan was not behind last month's rampage, saying, 'We condemn terrorism in all forms and all manifestations.' He added that he believes US President Donald Trump supports Pakistan's antiterrorism efforts. 'If they didn't believe (in our efforts), they would not have cooperated the way (that they did),' Dar said, pointing to Trump's social media post on 'finding a solution' to the Kashmir conflict. However, Dar warned that the already precarious ceasefire could be threatened 'if the [Kashmir] water issue is not resolved' in the coming talks, referring to ongoing disputes of access to water from rivers in Kashmir. Pakistan's proposed solution involves reversing India's decision to block three vast Kashmir rivers vital to Pakistan's economy. Failure to resolve the water issue 'will amount to an act of war,' he said. CNN's Esha Mitra and Sana Noor Haq contributed to this story.
