S/ Koizumi Shinjiro, Japanese Defense Minister / The Self-Defense Forces were not provided with specific information on the scale and airspace in which aircraft from carrier Liaoning would conduct training. As a result, there was insufficient information for the avoidance of danger.

Defense Minister Koizumi Shinjiro made the remarks after China’s state media released audio purportedly capturing exchanges between the Chinese military and Japan’s Self-Defense Forces during the December 6 radar lock incident.

During the incident, fighter jets from Liaoning intermittently locked radar on the SDF’s F-15 aircraft on two occasions.

Koizumi said there was notification from a Chinese military vessel to Japanese destroyers about the start of flight training, but no details, such as time, location coordinates and navigation warnings, were provided in advance.

He said the core issue was that China directed radar while Japan was appropriately responding to an airspace violation.

The defense minister also denied China’s claim that SDF aircraft used radar against Chinese military fighter jets.

Amid these developments, a US State Department spokesperson criticized China’s actions, saying they do not contribute to regional peace and stability.

The spokesperson noted that the US-Japan alliance is stronger than ever and emphasized that Washington’s commitment to Tokyo is unwavering and that the two sides are in close communication.

This is the first time the Trump administration has commented on China’s radar lock incident.

Meanwhile, the operator of ferries between Japan and China said passenger services on the Jian Zhen Hao have been suspended since December 6.

Japan-China International Ferry said the move is “due to a request from the Chinese side that the safety of travel between Japan and China cannot be guaranteed.”

The ferry in question connects China’s Shanghai with Japan’s Osaka and Kobe.

The suspension is believed to be influenced by China’s reactions to remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae in November regarding a potential Taiwan contingency.

As part of its countermeasures, Beijing urged its citizens to refrain from traveling to Japan.

The affected route is the only international ferry connecting Japan and China, originally launched in 1985 to promote youth exchanges between the two countries.

Passenger services had been suspended since the coronavirus outbreak but resumed in June this year with a newly built vessel after a hiatus of five and a half years.