TOKYO – Japan has deployed fighter jets to monitor Russian and Chinese air forces conducting joint patrols around the country. This was announced by the Japanese Ministry of Defense on Tuesday evening, amid rising tensions between Tokyo and Beijing.
Two Russian Tu-95 strategic bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons flew from the Sea of Japan to the East China Sea to rendezvous with two Chinese H-6 bombers, conducting a “long-range joint flight” over the Pacific, the ministry said.
Four Chinese J-16 fighter jets joined the bombers as they made a round-trip flight between the Japanese islands of Okinawa and Miyako, he added. The Miyako Strait between the two islands is classified as international waters.
Japan also detected simultaneous Russian air force activity in the Sea of Japan, consisting of one A-50 early warning aircraft and two Su-30 fighter jets, the ministry said.
Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said in a post on X on Wednesday that the joint Russian-Chinese operation “is clearly intended as a show of force against our country, which is a serious concern for our national security.”
Japanese fighter jets “are implementing strict air defense identification measures,” Koizumi added.
Russian news agencies reported that the joint Russian-Chinese flight near Japan lasted eight hours, citing Moscow’s Defense Ministry. The South Korean military also said on Tuesday that seven Russian and two Chinese aircraft had entered its air defense zone. Japan said on Sunday that fighter jets launched from a Chinese aircraft carrier had targeted Japanese military aircraft the day before, an allegation Beijing denied.
Beijing’s escalating military activity near Japan follows comments by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi last month that Tokyo could respond to any Chinese military action against Taiwan that also threatened Japan’s security. China and Russia have increased military cooperation in recent years elsewhere, conducting joint operations such as anti-missile training in Russian territory and live-fire naval exercises in the South China Sea.
