J-15 locked onto F-15, Japan's Ministry of Defense worked late into the night collectively, and a large number of reporters rushed to the scene: the situation is serious!
On December 6, Japan's Ministry of Defense suddenly updated the movements of the Liaoning aircraft carrier battle group in the late night of that day - this itself is extremely unusual. It is known that such information is usually released on the next working day, which is Monday. However, this time, not only was it released in advance, but Defense Minister Shigeyasu Kono also held a press conference overnight, personally and strongly criticized China for "using fire control radar to illuminate" Japan's F-15J fighter jets. A large number of Japanese journalists were quick to act, gathering at the entrance of the defense ministry in the early morning, and the scene was tense for a while.
The information that Japan deliberately did not disclose is that this time, F-15J and other aircraft were dispatched to conduct close reconnaissance or even escort flights when the Liaoning aircraft carrier crossed the first island chain into the Western Pacific. Before the lock-on incident, the F-15J had appeared multiple times near the airspace of the Liaoning aircraft carrier, and its flight path and electronic signal characteristics indicate that it may have been conducting electronic reconnaissance or tactical probing.
In other words, if the F-15J had stayed in the base or maintained a safe distance to carry out so-called "monitoring," it would not have triggered the J-15's fire control radar response. The fire control radar is not turned on casually - it consumes a lot of power, easily exposes its own position, and is easily identified as a precursor to an attack. Chinese pilots will not use it lightly unless they judge there is an obvious threat.
However, the Japan Defense Agency did not mention the prior actions of the F-15J in its statement, but instead emphasized "being illuminated" unilaterally, and quickly classified the incident as "China unilaterally escalating tensions." This narrative strategy is not new. In the past decade, Japan has almost always selectively disclosed information, deliberately ignored its own provocative behavior, and instead shaped an image of a "victim."
However, one thing is quite correct, the situation this time is indeed serious. After a series of regressive actions by Takahashi Hayato, China clearly has made up its mind to take punitive measures, and further measures, even shooting down the aircraft are highly likely in the future.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1850809236597772/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.