太平洋たいへいよう上空じょうくうで海上かいじょう自衛隊じえいたいの哨戒しょうかい機きが中国ちゅうごく軍ぐん戦闘せんとう機きから接近せっきんされる

The Ministry of Defense announced on the night of the 11th that earlier this month, a Maritime Self-Defense Force patrol aircraft flying over the Pacific Ocean was approached and had its path crossed by a Chinese military fighter jet.

It is said that Japan expressed serious concerns to the Chinese side, stating that unusual approaches could lead to accidental collisions, and strongly requested measures to prevent a recurrence.

According to the Ministry of Defense, on the 7th and 8th of this month, a Maritime Self-Defense Force P-3C patrol aircraft conducting surveillance over the Pacific near Japan was tailed by a Chinese military J-15 fighter jet.

The fighter jets were carrier-based aircraft from the Chinese Navys aircraft carrier Shandong, and the duration of the tracking was approximately 40 minutes on the 7th and about 80 minutes on the 8th.

On each of these days, they approached to within approximately 45 meters, and on the 8th, a fighter jet reportedly crossed in front of the patrol aircraft at a distance of about 900 meters.

Shandong was confirmed to have been sailing in the sea about 550 kilometers southeast of Miyako Island, Okinawa Prefecture on the afternoon of the 7th, and inside Japans EEZ Exclusive Economic Zone north of Okinotorishima in the Ogasawara Islands on the 9th.

In this flight, there was no damage to the crew or the patrol aircraft, but they expressed serious concern to the Chinese side, stating that such unusual approaches could cause accidental collisions, and strongly requested measures to prevent a recurrence.

Chinese military fighter jets also approached Japanese Self-Defense Force aircraft abnormally during surveillance flights over the East China Sea in May and June 2014, and the Japanese government has lodged a protest with China.

The Ministry of Defense explained that the reason for the announcement being made several days after the incident was that they were carefully conducting interviews with the crew and analyzing the data.

The Ministry of Defense has released two photos from the 8th of this month showing a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force P-3C patrol aircraft being tailed by a Chinese military J-15 fighter jet, which appears to be equipped with missiles.

Of these, in the photo taken from the front of the fighter jet, you can see what appears to be a missile mounted under the left wing of the aircraft.

According to the Ministry of Defense, what is believed to be a missile was also confirmed during the flight on the 7th, the previous day.

Additionally, the other photo was taken from the left side of the patrol aircraft and shows the fighter jet, revealing that the fighter was flying at almost the same altitude and extremely close to the patrol aircraft.

According to the Ministry of Defense, on the 8th, when the fighter jet crossed about 900 meters in front of the patrol aircraft, it flew from the left side to the right side of the patrol aircraft.

The Ministry of Defense stated that this crossing was not operationally necessary, and there was a possibility that the exhaust from the fighter jets engine could have affected the patrol aircrafts flight.