TOKYO (Realist English). A Chinese J-15 fighter jet flew within just 45 meters of a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) patrol aircraft over international waters in the Pacific last weekend, in what Tokyo described as a dangerously close encounter. According to the Japanese Defense Ministry, the Chinese aircraft took off from the Shandong aircraft carrier before performing a near miss with an MSDF P-3C patrol plane.
The ministry reported additional unsafe maneuvers on Saturday and Sunday, including a Chinese warplane passing directly in front of a Japanese aircraft at the same altitude and within 900 meters of separation. Though no damage or injuries were reported, Tokyo filed an official protest and called on Beijing to halt such “abnormal and hazardous approaches.”
“These actions pose a significant risk of accidental collision,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that it had conveyed “serious concerns” to the Chinese side through diplomatic channels.
The incidents occurred as Japan confirmed—for the first time—simultaneous operations by China’s two active aircraft carriers, the Shandong and the Liaoning, in the western Pacific. The maneuver, seen as a show of force, prompted heightened vigilance in Tokyo amid growing regional tensions.
On Saturday, the Shandong was tracked about 550 kilometers southeast of Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture, later conducting takeoff and landing drills near Okinotori Island, within Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Two days later, its fighter jets and helicopters continued exercises in the same area.
Meanwhile, the Liaoning was observed on Saturday inside Japan’s EEZ, roughly 300 kilometers southwest of Minamitori Island, before moving further southwest and holding similar flight operations on Sunday. According to a Japanese government official, the Liaoning eventually crossed beyond the “second island chain”—a strategic line stretching from Japan’s Izu Islands to Guam, which Beijing views as a key national defense perimeter.
The twin-carrier presence and close-range military maneuvers underscore China’s increasing maritime assertiveness and raise the risk of unintentional escalation in contested areas of the Pacific.
