Reuters
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Japan has scrambled jets to observe Russian and Chinese air forces conducting joint patrols across the nation, the Japanese Defense Ministry stated late Tuesday, amid rising tensions between Tokyo and Beijing.
Two Russian Tu-95 nuclear-capable strategic bombers flew from the Sea of Japan towards the East China Sea to rendezvous with two Chinese H-6 bombers, and carried out a “long-distance joint flight” within the Pacific, the ministry stated.
Four Chinese J-16 fighter jets joined the bombers as they made a round-trip flight between Japan’s Okinawa and Miyako islands, it added. The Miyako Strait between the 2 islands is classed as worldwide waters.
Japan additionally detected simultaneous Russian air drive exercise within the Sea of Japan, consisting of 1 early-warning plane A-50 and two Su-30 fighters, the ministry stated.
Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi stated in a submit on X on Wednesday that the Russian and Chinese joint operations have been “clearly intended as a show of force against our nation, which is a serious concern for our national security.”
Japan’s fighter jets “strictly implemented air defense identification measures,” Koizumi added.
Russian information businesses reported that the Russian-Chinese joint flight near Japan lasted for eight hours, citing Moscow’s Defense Ministry.
South Korea’s navy additionally stated on Tuesday that seven Russian planes and two Chinese planes had entered its air protection zone.
Japan stated on Sunday that Chinese carrier-launched fighter jets aimed radar at Japanese navy plane a day earlier, an account Beijing disputed.
Beijing’s rising navy actions near Japan comply with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark final month that Tokyo might reply to any Chinese navy motion towards Taiwan that additionally threatened Japan’s safety.
China and Russia have been ramping up navy cooperation in recent times elsewhere, conducting joint operations such as an anti-missile coaching on Russian territory and live-fire naval workouts within the South China Sea.