This follows joint drills by Chinese and Russian strategic bombers and fighters on Tuesday that prompted Japan and South Korea to scramble planes to monitor them.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan and Australia urged calm on Sunday after Chinese military aircraft locked radar on Japanese fighter jets, a month after the Japanese leader’s recent remarks on Taiwan that stirred tensions between Tokyo and Beijing.

It is the first time the U.S. has criticized China for aiming radars at Japanese military aircraft as the diplomatic spat between Beijing and Tokyo shows no sign of easing.

American strategic bombers trained alongside Japanese aircraft in what Washington and Tokyo described as a demonstration of their resolve following recent military tensions between Japan and China this week.

Japan and China remain locked in a blame game, with Japan complaining that China did not provide enough information on a Chinese military exercise that led to an alleged use of fire-control radar against Japanese fighter jets.

Mageshima is located in the narrow Osumi Strait, one of the few waterways used by the Chinese navy to gain access to the Philippine Sea and the wider Pacific Ocean. Satellite imagery reviewed by Newsweek showed that base construction on the island has continued rapidly since it began in January 2023.

Japan is threatening China militarily which is "completely unacceptable", Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his German counterpart, after Japan said that Chinese fighter jets had aimed their radar at Japanese military aircraft.

China and Japan are two of Asia’s most powerful nations and the region’s biggest trading partners. Yet centuries of intense rivalry mean their economic embrace can never be taken for granted.

China’s Liaoning carrier conducts air drills near Japan, heightening tensions as both nations trade diplomatic accusations over military actions.