Japan detects Russian planes and mobilizes fighters

Japanese fighter jets were mobilized this Friday after detecting Russian patrol aircraft flying over the waters between the Sea of ​​Japan and the East China Sea, the General Staff of the Japanese Armed Forces said.

The two Russian planes flew along the central and southern coasts of Japan, crossed the Tsushima Strait, which connects the two seas and separates South Korea from Japan, and then returned by the same route, the same source said in a brief statement.

The Japanese General Staff added that in response to this situation, fighter jets of the Japan Air Self-Defense Forces were sent.

The episode comes as Russia and China are conducting joint naval exercises involving their respective navies in the East China Sea, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

In June, China and Russia conducted joint air patrols over the Sea of ​​Japan and the East China Sea, prompting South Korea to send fighter jets into the zone as a precaution.

Friday’s incident also came on the day of an unprecedented trilateral summit near Washington between the United States, South Korea and Japan aimed at sending a message of unity to China and North Korea.

US President Joe Biden greets Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yun Suk-yeol at Camp David, the residence of the US President, located on the outskirts of Washington.

The three countries are expected to establish an “emergency channel” in the region, which lives under the threat of North Korea’s nuclear program and fears China’s invasion of the island of Taiwan, according to official sources within a week.

Japan joined Western allies in sanctions against Moscow after its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine and warned of the level of threat Russia poses.

In the latest security document signed by the Japanese authorities, who have even advocated closer cooperation and ties with Russia in the past, Tokyo warns that Moscow’s joint military exercises with China are a problem.