Liaoning Drills Near Okinawa Fuel Japan-China Radar Dispute and Allied Response

Two radar encounters turn carrier training into a diplomatic dispute

Japan says Chinese J 15 fighters directed fire control radar at Japanese F 15s twice on the same day over international waters southeast of Okinawa, with one encounter lasting about 30 minutes. The aircraft were operating around the Chinese carrier Liaoning, whose flight training in the Philippine Sea drew Japanese surveillance and a formal protest from Tokyo.

No damage or injuries were reported. Japan's Defense Ministry called the radar illumination dangerous and said it went beyond what was necessary for flight safety. Beijing rejected Japan's account, described the carrier exercises as routine and lawful, and urged other countries not to overreact.

The dispute brought together several pressures around Japan's southwest islands: increasingly frequent Chinese carrier operations, Japanese efforts to monitor them, and disagreement over how much warning China should provide before launching aircraft near busy airspace. Chinese, Japanese and allied forces regularly follow one another in international waters and airspace in this region.

Japan described the movements as the first confirmed operations by a Chinese carrier group near the country since China entered what Tokyo called a three carrier era. Liaoning and Shandong were China's two active carriers, while the newer Fujian was conducting sea trials. As of December 16, 2025, the episode showed how the expansion of China's fleet was bringing more complex military activity close to the Japanese archipelago.

Japanese tallies recorded more than 200 sorties by the carrier's aircraft and helicopters over about a week, including roughly 50 takeoffs and landings during one weekend period. A sortie is an individual operational flight. Repeated launches and recoveries meant Japanese monitoring aircraft were operating near a carrier group actively moving aircraft between its deck and the surrounding skies.

What Japan says happened in the air

Japan's Defense Ministry said the two radar incidents involved J 15 fighters from the People's Liberation Army Navy and F 15s from the Japan Air Self Defense Force. Japanese fighters had scrambled as aircraft launched frequently from Liaoning and were carrying out standard monitoring southeast of Okinawa.

Fire control radar helps a military aircraft track a target so that weapons can be directed toward it. A radar lock signals that a weapon could be guided toward the tracked aircraft with little delay, making it a serious escalation during a close encounter. Pilots treat such illumination as a threat and begin defensive measures.

Japan's defense minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, condemned the alleged radar action and said Tokyo had demanded measures to prevent another incident. He described both the safety concern and the diplomatic response:

This radar lock on incident constitutes a dangerous act that exceeds the scope necessary for the safe flight of aircraft. We have lodged a strong protest and demand steps to prevent a recurrence.

Chinese officials disputed the Japanese account and said Liaoning's group had announced training within a defined area. They also said foreign aircraft had approached the training area too closely. The disagreement echoed earlier arguments about how close surveillance aircraft can safely fly to a carrier during launches and recoveries.

The ships, the flight operations and the route

Liaoning operated with Nanchang, a large Type 055 destroyer, and two Type 052D guided missile destroyers: Xining, identified by hull number 117, and Kaifeng, identified by hull number 124. Hulunhu, a large replenishment ship, supported the formation.

Japan tracked the group in the Philippine Sea, where its main operating area lay near Oki Daito Island. Carriers often use this area for repeated cycles of flight training without entering territorial waters. Liaoning's aircraft carried out repeated launches and recoveries as the formation remained at sea.

The Japan Maritime Self Defense Force destroyer Teruzuki shadowed the Chinese ships. Japanese maritime patrol aircraft, including a P 3C Orion, also monitored the group, while the air force scrambled fighters as carrier launches increased.

After completing the drills, the Chinese formation sailed northwest between Okinawa and Miyako Island toward the East China Sea. The combination of a carrier, several destroyers and a replenishment ship illustrated the support needed for sustained operations away from home waters. Nanchang has repeatedly escorted Liaoning, providing air defense and helping coordinate the group.

Why the passage near Okinawa matters

The Miyako Strait lies between Okinawa's main island and Miyakojima. It is a deep water passage connecting the East China Sea with the wider Pacific, allowing Chinese naval groups to reach the Philippine Sea for training far from their home bases.

The passage contains international waters and international airspace. Japanese and allied forces watch movements there closely because the route is near major shipping lanes and within range of Japan's southwest islands. Chinese and Russian joint patrols also use the corridor, increasing Tokyo's alert levels.

Japan's Air Defense Identification Zone, commonly called an ADIZ, adds another layer to these encounters. An ADIZ is an area where a country requests that approaching aircraft identify themselves. Sovereign airspace, by contrast, is airspace over which a country exercises territorial authority. Aircraft can pass through an ADIZ without breaking international law simply by entering it.

Japan routinely scrambles fighters when foreign military aircraft enter its ADIZ without providing identification. Carrier aircraft operating near Okinawa can therefore prompt repeated Japanese flights even while the activity takes place over international waters.

The Miyako and Yonaguni corridors are close to small Japanese islands and vital sea lanes. Repeated military flights near those islands create immediate surveillance demands for Tokyo, while the same routes give Beijing access to the open Pacific beyond the island chain along East Asia's coast.

Why advance warning became part of the argument

Tokyo acknowledged that China had provided advance notice of the latest training. Japanese officials said, however, that the information lacked sufficient detail about location, airspace and timing, and that no formal notices to air missions had been issued to support safe separation of aircraft.

Notices to air missions and notices to mariners tell aircraft and ships about activity that may affect their routes. For large exercises, precise notices help civilian traffic avoid training areas and give military crews a clearer picture of where operations will take place.

Beijing said the carrier group had announced its training area. Tokyo's objection concerned how useful that warning was for managing flights around it. The two governments therefore disagreed both about the radar encounters and about whether the arrangements surrounding the exercises were adequate.

Carrier operations make this problem particularly demanding. Jets repeatedly approach the deck, take off and move through nearby airspace, changing their distance and direction relative to monitoring aircraft. Clear training boundaries and disciplined radio procedures can help crews avoid misjudging another aircraft's movements.

Beijing defends routine training

China framed Liaoning's operations as normal military training conducted under domestic and international law. Its public response stressed a defensive national defense policy and challenged suggestions that the exercises should cause alarm.

Lin Jian, a spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry, defended the legality of Chinese naval and coast guard activity and called for restraint:

China follows a defensive national defense policy. Our navy and coast guard conduct activities in accordance with domestic law and international law. There is no need for overreaction or groundless accusations.

Senior Captain Wang Xuemeng, a spokesperson for the Chinese Navy, said the carrier drills were intended to improve operations far from China's shores, rather than to target another country:

These were routine training activities that did not target any specific country. The exercises were planned and conducted to improve the forces' capabilities in far seas operations.

Chinese military commentators also argued that Japan gives excessive attention to normal Chinese naval activity to justify its own military expansion. They questioned why allied operations in the same waters did not receive similar scrutiny.

Beijing's position reflects its effort to make sustained carrier operations in distant waters a regular part of naval activity. Tokyo, meanwhile, wants to monitor foreign forces in international airspace while maintaining safety near its southwest islands. Those objectives bring the two militaries into repeated close contact.

Japan, the United States and regional partners respond

Tokyo lodged a formal protest over the alleged radar illumination and demanded steps to prevent a repeat. Japanese leaders said the government would respond calmly and resolutely while maintaining vigilance around the southwest islands.

Koizumi also said Japan would press Beijing for more comprehensive notification of drills that bring carrier aircraft into busy airspace near the Ryukyus. That demand linked the immediate radar dispute to the practical arrangements needed for future exercises.

The U.S. secretary of defense and Japan's defense minister spoke by telephone around the same time, discussing Chinese military activity and wider regional security. Both affirmed the role of the alliance.

Separately, U.S. Air Force B 52 bombers flew with Japanese F 15 and F 35 fighters following Chinese and Russian long range flights around southern Japan. Such bomber task force missions occur periodically and are intended to demonstrate readiness and coordination between allies.

The Philippines warned that radar locks by Chinese fighters on Japanese aircraft were dangerous and risked miscalculation in crowded international airspace. Manila called for restraint and compliance with international law.

Arsenio Andolong, spokesperson for the Philippine Department of National Defense, said aircraft conducting lawful operations should be able to do so without threatening radar encounters:

The use of radar against an aircraft conducting lawful operations has no place in international airspace. We support transparency, restraint, and adherence to international law over intimidation and provocation.

Statements from partners including Australia and the Philippines, together with the alliance consultations and joint flights, showed a regional response extending beyond Japan's own protest.

How Liaoning's patrol fits a longer expansion

Japan's Ministry of Defense has tracked a steady expansion of Chinese military activity around the archipelago. It has recorded more frequent flights and sailings in the Pacific east of Taiwan and Okinawa, more varied routes by unmanned aerial vehicles between Okinawa and nearby islands, and increased activity around the median line in the Taiwan Strait.

The ministry also points to China's larger military budget and rapid naval modernization, including more modern destroyers, frigates and submarines. Liaoning's recent deployment belongs to that wider pattern rather than standing alone.

Liaoning has previously trained south of Okinawa and east of Taiwan. In 2022, it led a group of eight ships during intensive flight operations in the western Pacific, while Japanese warships and patrol aircraft followed the formation.

Chinese descriptions of later exercises have highlighted operations involving both active carriers. Japan's monitoring points to a navy testing how long it can remain farther into the Pacific and how effectively it can operate larger groups of aircraft.

• 2022: Liaoning led a group of eight ships through intensive western Pacific flight operations under Japanese surveillance.
• Late 2024: Chinese sources highlighted training involving Liaoning and Shandong together in the South China Sea.
• 2025: Chinese sources highlighted simultaneous carrier training in the wider Pacific, while Fujian continued sea trials.
• The latest deployment: Japan counted more than 200 aircraft and helicopter sorties over about a week before the Liaoning group returned toward the East China Sea.

China's two active carriers and Fujian's trials form the fleet picture behind Tokyo's description of a three carrier era. Beijing has also signaled ambitions for more complex operations on the open ocean. Japanese monitoring suggests those efforts include testing activity beyond the second island chain, farther into the Pacific, for longer periods.

The practical risks during close encounters

Pacific navies have established norms intended to reduce danger when military vessels meet unexpectedly. Many endorse the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea, which encourages professional conduct by surface ships. Similar practices for military aircraft have been discussed, although they have not been universally adopted.

Ships and aircraft operating near an active carrier need to account for repeated takeoffs and landings. Safe distances, accurate notices and reliable communications matter because even a routine monitoring flight can become tense when crews interpret another aircraft's behavior as threatening.

Japan says China's latest warning lacked details needed to manage that risk. China says it gave advance notice and that foreign aircraft approached too closely. Each side's expectations about surveillance and training areas shape how its crews respond during encounters.

Precise notifications, safe spacing during launches and recoveries, disciplined radio procedures and reliable hotlines between operational commands offer practical ways to reduce miscalculation. The latest episode put those arrangements at the center of the diplomatic dispute.

What is at stake around Japan's southwest islands

Liaoning's hundreds of sorties, substantial escort and extended Philippine Sea operations show a Chinese navy becoming more comfortable operating in the open ocean. Beijing seeks a regular presence beyond the first island chain, including in waters near Japan, while making allied surveillance more difficult.

Tokyo faces both local security demands and wider strategic choices. Military activity close to its southwest islands requires sustained monitoring. The deployments also feed debates about defense spending, air and missile defense in the southwest, and the possible role of Japanese forces during a Taiwan crisis.

The U.S. bomber flights with Japanese fighters, defense consultations and partner statements show an allied response network coordinating around visible Chinese activity in the western Pacific. Both sides are watching how the other manages close encounters and whether the balance of military presence is changing.

As of December 16, Japan was demanding measures to prevent another radar incident and more detailed exercise notifications, while China maintained that its training was routine and lawful. No date was given for new notification arrangements or an agreed resolution of the dispute.

What to Know

• Japan says Chinese J 15s directed fire control radar at Japanese F 15s twice southeast of Okinawa, once for about 30 minutes. China disputed the account.
• No damage or injuries were reported. Tokyo lodged a protest and sought measures to prevent another incident.
• Liaoning operated with Nanchang, Xining, Kaifeng and the replenishment ship Hulunhu before returning toward the East China Sea.
• Japan counted more than 200 aircraft and helicopter sorties over about a week, including roughly 50 takeoffs and landings during one weekend period.
• Japan acknowledged advance notice but said it lacked sufficient detail. China said its training area had been announced.
• Japan and the United States held defense consultations, while U.S. bombers flew with Japanese fighters. The Philippines called for restraint.
• Liaoning and Shandong were China's active carriers, with Fujian conducting sea trials.
• Accurate exercise notices, safe distances and reliable communications are central to reducing risks during carrier training and surveillance.