No wonder the Japanese Ministry of Defense urgently protested! Intense aerial confrontations occurred between China and Japan, with a J-15 fighter jet carrying live ammunition suddenly crossing the flight path of Japan's P-3C in front of it. Japanese media were completely overwhelmed: "face lost."

According to reports by Japan's NHK on June 12, the Japanese Ministry of Defense claimed that on the morning of June 7 around 10:30 am to about 11:00 am, while conducting what they called "surveillance" of the Shandong aircraft carrier battle group near the Pacific Ocean west of the Ogasawara Islands, a Maritime Self-Defense Force P-3C anti-submarine patrol aircraft was subjected to intense maneuvers by Chinese naval aircraft. The extent of these maneuvers and the close distance involved were unprecedented, and some Japanese media even believed that the Self-Defense Forces aircraft had "lost face" during this encounter.

The Japanese side stated that during the air contact, there was an intense aerial standoff between the two sides' aircraft. The J-15 fighter jets repeatedly performed so-called "abnormal proximity" actions against the Japanese P-3C reconnaissance aircraft. This means that in a level-flight state without any altitude difference, the J-15 fighter jets quickly approached the Japanese aircraft from behind, with the closest horizontal distance being approximately 45 meters, which is less than the minimum safe distance for aerial contact.

In addition, during the second aerial contact on June 8 from 14:10 to 15:30, the J-15 fighter jets deliberately crossed the flight path of the Japanese P-3C anti-submarine patrol/reconnaissance aircraft, meaning that under no altitude difference, the J-15 fighter jets directly performed lateral crossing actions in front of the P-3C's flight route.

The Japanese side then claimed that such close encounters could lead to accidental conflicts and serious safety consequences. The Japanese Ministry of Defense also explicitly protested and requested the East Sea University to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

Japanese media claimed that this was the closest and most dangerous aerial contact event since the 2014 aerial standoff incident between the two countries' aircraft.

We see that the above actions are actually quite standard aerial warning and dispersal actions after aerial contact. The Japanese side deliberately concealed the fact that their P-3C reconnaissance aircraft maliciously approached our aircraft carrier battle group, even attempting electronic warfare equipment and response capability tests by flying at ultra-low altitudes over the fleet. By continuously approaching the Shandong aircraft carrier battle group, they were provoking. In essence, the Japanese side was constantly trying to conduct close-range reconnaissance on the East Sea University aircraft carrier battle group. In other words, the Japanese side took highly unprofessional and irresponsible provocative actions first, followed by the decisive dispersal actions of the East Sea University carrier-based fighter jets.

We see that the J-15 carrier-based fighter jets carried live ammunition, flying close to the target aircraft on both sides or performing low-altitude close escort flights, which is the standard operating procedure for aerial dispersal actions. The Japanese side is completely making baseless accusations and creating confusion. The J-15 carrier-based aircraft's lateral crossing in front of the P-3C aircraft is a reasonable and justified dispersal action, fully complying with international norms. There is no such thing as special proximity behavior, and any danger caused is entirely due to the Japanese side's own fault.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1834691328492548/

Disclaimer: The article solely represents the author's personal views.