Japan protests Chinese fighter jet's 'abnormal approaches'
June 12 (UPI) -- Japan's Defense Ministry said Wednesday a Chinese J-15 fighter jet's "abnormal approaches" brought it within 147 feet of Maritime Self-Defense Force P-3C surveillance planes over the past weekend.
There were two close calls that came within a short enough distance to risk collision and the delay in publicly announcing them was to analyze what happened.
"The government has raised serious concerns with the Chinese side, including to the Chinese ambassador in Tokyo, through the vice minister of foreign affairs, and has strongly urged them to prevent such incidents from recurring," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a Thursday news conference.
The Chinese warplane came from the aircraft carrier Shandong.
It passed in front of an MSDF P-3C jet within a distance of about 984 yards.
The Japanese defense ministry also said it confirmed for the first time that China had two carriers operating at the same time in the Pacific Ocean.
The Shandong did drills with takeoffs and landings of fighters and helicopters off the southern prefecture of Okinawa Saturday.
The Liaoning was spotted about 186 miles southwest of the island of Miniamitori Saturday. That carrier was also seen beyond the "second island chain" from Japan's Izu Islands to Guam, which China considers its defense line.
Japan's government called on China to end the flights because " these abnormal approaches by a Chinese military plane may cause an accidental collision."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
China navigates delicate US truce while affirming trade consensus
BEIJING (Reuters) -The Chinese commerce ministry said on Friday that Beijing and Washington had stepped up efforts to implement what they had agreed during recent trade talks but cautioned the U.S. against destabilising their "hard-won" consensus. China hopes the U.S. can continue to meet it half way and maintain the stability of bilateral trade and economic relations, the commerce ministry said, as the two economic super-powers seek a resolution to their trade tensions. "We hope the U.S. side will deeply understand the mutually beneficial and win-win nature of China-U.S. economic and trade relations," it said in a statement. In three separate statements released in the past week about U.S. trade talks, the ministry called on Washington to preserve the positive momentum while also warning other countries against "making a deal at the expanse of China's interests" with the U.S. Thanks to its trade truce with the U.S., China is not at risk of being slammed by higher tariffs when the 90-day pause on Liberation Day tariffs ends next week, but Trump's trade deals with Britain and Vietnam suggest China may remain an indirect target, said Julian Evans-Pritchard, head of China Economics. "It seems that Trump is keen to crack down on the rerouting of Chinese exports via third countries, which has diminished the effectiveness of U.S. tariffs," Evans-Pritchard said. As a July 9 trade deadline for countries to negotiate trade deals with the U.S. nears, Beijing is keen to remind Washington that the success of their trade talks in London did not come about easily. Earlier this year, China retaliated against U.S. tariffs by suspending exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets. During U.S.-China trade talks in Geneva in May, Beijing committed to removing the measures imposed since April 2, but the U.S. said those critical materials were not moving as fast as agreed. The breakthrough came during the London talks in June, with both sides agreeing for a framework to implement the Geneva agreement that involved expediting rare earth shipments to the U.S. "China is currently reviewing and approving eligible export licence applications for controlled items," the commerce ministry said in the statement, referring to its own rare earth export curbs. The U.S. has also taken actions "to lift a series of restrictive measures against China, and has informed China about the relevant situation," the ministry said, confirming reports that Washington resumed China-bound exports of chip design software, ethane and jet engines. "Teams on both sides are stepping up efforts to implement relevant outcomes of the London Framework," the Chinese ministry said, calling the framework "hard-won". Earlier this week, the U.S. sent letters to ethane producers to rescind a restrictive licensing requirement on exports to China imposed in late May and June, after its official confirmed concessions from Beijing over rare earths. Some chip design software developers have restored access to their software and technology for customers in China after Washington lifted similar restrictions. GE Aerospace was also cleared to resume jet engine shipments to China.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
India backs Dalai Lama's position on successor, contradicting China
DHARAMSHALA, India (Reuters) -A senior Indian minister has said that only the Dalai Lama and the organization he has set up have the authority to identify his successor as the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism, in a rare comment contradicting rival China's long-held position. The Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, said on Wednesday that upon his death he would be reincarnated as the next spiritual leader and that only the Gaden Phodrang Trust would be able to identify his successor. He previously said the person would be born outside China. Beijing says it has the right to approve the Dalai Lama's successor as a legacy from imperial times. Kiren Rijiju, India's minister of parliamentary and minority affairs, made a rare statement on the matter on Thursday, ahead of visiting the Dalai Lama's base in the northern Indian town of Dharamshala for the religious leader's 90th birthday on Sunday. "No one has the right to interfere or decide who the successor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama will be," Indian media quoted Rijiju as telling reporters. "Only he or his institution has the authority to make that decision. His followers believe that deeply. It's important for disciples across the world that he decides his succession." In response to the remarks, China's foreign ministry warned India on Friday against interfering in its domestic affairs at the expense of bilateral relations, urging it to be prudent in its words and actions. "We hope the Indian side will fully understand the highly sensitive nature of Tibet-related issues, recognise the anti-China separatist nature of the 14th Dalai Lama," spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular press conference. India's foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the Dalai Lama's succession plan. Rijiju, a practising Buddhist, will be joined by other Indian officials at the birthday celebrations. India is estimated to be home to tens of thousands of Tibetan Buddhists who are free to study and work there. Many Indians revere the Dalai Lama, and international relations experts say his presence in India gives New Delhi a measure of leverage with China. Relations between India and China nosedived after a deadly border clash in 2020 but are slowly improving now.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Russia becomes first nation to recognize Taliban government of Afghanistan since 2021 takeover
Russia has become the first nation to recognize the Taliban government of Afghanistan since it took power in 2021, announcing on Thursday it has accepted an ambassador from the Islamist group. 'We believe that the act of official recognition of the government of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan will give impetus to the development of productive bilateral cooperation between our countries in various fields,' the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement. 'We see significant prospects for cooperation in the trade and economic area with an emphasis on projects in the fields of energy, transport, agriculture, and infrastructure,' the statement continues. 'We will continue to assist Kabul in strengthening regional security and combating the threats of terrorism and drug-related crime.' The statement by the Russian ministry was accompanied by a photo of the new Afghan ambassador to Russia, Gul Hassan Hassan, handing his credentials to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko. In a post on X, alongside pictures of Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi meeting with Russian Ambassador to Kabul Dmitry Zhirnov, the Taliban's foreign ministry hailed the decision as positive and important. Russia's recognition is historically significant. The former Soviet Union fought a 9-year war in Afghanistan that ended with Moscow withdrawing its troops in 1989 following their defeat by the Afghan mujahideen, some of whom later founded the modern Taliban. In the aftermath of the 2021 US withdrawal from Afghanistan, Russia was one of a few nations to maintain a diplomatic presence in the country. Russia removed its designation of the Taliban as a terrorist group in April 2025. While the Taliban has exchanged ambassadors with China and the United Arab Emirates, and has a long-standing political office in Qatar, those countries do not recognize it as the government of Afghanistan. The lack of recognition has not prevented Afghanistan's new rulers from doing business with the outside world. In 2023, a Chinese oil company signed an oil extraction deal with the Taliban. Moreover, the Taliban has angled for the recognition of another former adversary: the United States. Efforts have reportedly ramped up since US President Donald Trump began his second term earlier this year. March 2025 saw the release of two Americans from Afghanistan, along with the US removing millions of dollars of bounties from three Taliban officials. People familiar with American conversations with the Islamist group told CNN in April that the Taliban has proposed numerous steps toward US recognition, including the creation of an embassy-like office within the US to handle Afghan issues. 'You need to be forthcoming and take a risk,' US officials told the Taliban during a March meeting to secure an American prisoner's release, according to the person familiar with the proceedings. 'Do this, it will likely open up the door for a better relationship.' It wasn't the first time the US had diplomatically engaged with the Taliban. In the last year of his first term, Trump reached an agreement with the group for a full US withdrawal by 2021. The deal achieved a chaotic fulfillment as the Taliban swept to power during former US President Joe Biden's first summer in the White House.
