Defense & Security

Chinese Fighter Jet Flies Dangerously Close to MSDF Aircraft; Japan Expresses ‘Serious Concern,’ Urges China to Prevent Recurrence

Courtesy of Defense Ministry
A Chinese fighter jet is seen near the Maritime Self-Defense Force’s P-3C patrol aircraft, foreground, over the Pacific Ocean on Sunday.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:00 JST, June 12, 2025

A Chinese fighter jet flew dangerously close to a Maritime Self-Defense Force P-3C patrol aircraft, flying just 45 meters from the P-3C after taking off from the Shandong aircraft carrier sailing in the Pacific Ocean, Japan’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday.

The Chinese jet also flew right in front of the P-3C, which was monitoring the carrier. The Chinese Navy currently has two aircraft carriers deployed in the Pacific, the Shandong and the Liaoning, and dangerous flights by carrier-based aircraft have been confirmed.

The ministry said the P-3C was followed by China’s J-15 fighter jet, which took off from the Shandong, over international waters south of Miyakojima Island in Okinawa Prefecture on Saturday and Sunday. The P-3C was followed for about 40 minutes from around 10:30 a.m. on Saturday and for about 80 minutes from around 2 p.m. on Sunday.

The P-3C maintained a safe distance from the Shandong, but a J-15 jet approached and moved away while constantly staying within visual range of the P-3C.

A J-15 jet, which was carrying what appeared to be a missile, got close multiple times and came within about 45 meters of the Japanese aircraft while flying at the same altitude as the P-3C on the left on Saturday and on the right on Sunday.

In another maneuver on Sunday, a J-15 flying at the same altitude of the P-3C flew about 900 meters in front of the Japanese aircraft.

No damage was reported for the MSDF aircraft, but a ministry official said, “There was a risk of the P-3C’s engine malfunctioning due to fighter jet exhaust.”

The ministry announced Monday it had confirmed that the Shandong and the Liaoning were operating simultaneously in the Pacific Ocean for the first time, prompting the SDF to keep monitoring the situation.

In the past, Chinese military aircraft have approached SDF aircraft over the East China Sea, coming within about 30 meters in May and June 2014.