Images: Reuters Berita 24 English - On Tuesday, when Tokyo was hosting the leaders of the Quad grouping of countries, including the United ...
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| Images: Reuters |
Kishi said at an online news conference that Tokyo has expressed "grave concerns" to both Russia and China through diplomatic channels.
On a day when US President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Australia's freshly elected leader, Anthony Albanese, were meeting in Tokyo, he described the incident as a likely provocation by both Beijing and Moscow.
"We believe this move is more offensive than in the past because it was conducted during the Quad meeting," he added, adding that it was the fourth such occurrence since November.
According to Kishi, two Chinese warplanes flew across the Sea of Japan from the East China Sea, where they were joined by two Russian jets for a fly back to the East China Sea.
Later, he said, the two Chinese warplanes were replaced by another pair, which flew alongside the Russians on a long journey toward the Pacific Ocean.
According to him, a Russian surveillance jet flew over the open sea from Hokkaido's northern island to Japan's main island's Noto peninsula.
According to him, none of the planes entered Japanese airspace.
Both Russia and China confirmed that a joint patrol was performed. The patrol over the Japanese and East China seas lasted 13 hours, according to Russia's defense ministry.
According to China's defense ministry, the exercise was part of a "annual military cooperation plan."
Separately, when at least four Chinese and four Russian airplanes entered South Korea's air defense zone on Tuesday, the military said it scrambled fighters.
It was unclear whether the two incidents were connected or if the same warplanes were involved.
In the face of an increasingly aggressive China, the four leaders of the Quad - an informal organization led by Washington - reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific area on Tuesday.
