REUTERS- Japan scrambled fighter jets on Tuesday after Russian and Chinese air forces carried out a joint patrol near its territory, the defence ministry said, amid growing strains between Tokyo and Beijing.
The ministry reported that two Russian Tu-95 nuclear-capable bombers flew from the Sea of Japan toward the East China Sea, where they rendezvoused with two Chinese H-6 bombers for a long-range mission over the Pacific. Four Chinese J-16 fighters later joined the formation as it made a round-trip flight between Okinawa and Miyako islands. The Miyako Strait between the two islands is recognised as international waters.
Japan also detected additional Russian aircraft activity in the Sea of Japan, including an A-50 early-warning plane and two Su-30 fighters.
Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi criticised the joint flight, calling it “a show of force against our nation” and a serious threat to Japan’s security. He said Japanese jets responded by enforcing strict air defence identification protocols.
Russian news agencies, citing Moscow’s defence ministry, said the joint patrol lasted eight hours. South Korea likewise reported that seven Russian and two Chinese aircraft entered its air defence identification zone on Tuesday.
The manoeuvres came a day after Japan accused Chinese carrier-launched fighter jets of locking radar on Japanese aircraft — a claim China rejected.
China’s stepped-up military activity near Japan follows Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks last month that Tokyo could respond if a Chinese attack on Taiwan also threatened Japan’s security.
Russia and China have strengthened military cooperation in recent years, conducting joint anti-missile drills in Russia and live-fire naval exercises in the South China Sea.
