Aerial brinkmanship: China’s JH-7 comes within 30 metres of Japan’s YS-11EB amid soaring tensions

Aerial brinkmanship: China’s JH-7 comes within 30 metres of Japan’s YS-11EB amid soaring tensions

For two days straight, Chinese fighter planes flew dangerously close to Japanese military aircraft in international airspace. This is the latest episode of China’s aggressive military posturing in the Indo-Pacific region as it asserts its expansionist goals.

In this photo provided by Japan’s Ministry of Defense, a Chinese JH-7 fighter-bomber, center, is seen close to a YS-11EB electronic-intelligence aircraft, partly seen at left, of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force over the East China Sea on July 9, 2025. (Ministry of Defense via AP)