Japan to Alaska: What’s behind Russia-China joint military drills?
Al Jazeera
Russia and China have ramped up their joint drills since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.
Japan has accused Russia of violating its airspace with a patrol plane. On Monday, Japanese fighter jets issued a warning to the Russian military over radio signal before firing flares at a Russian plane that had entered its airspace.
Japan’s Defence Minister Minoru Kihara told reporters: “A Russian Il-38 patrol aircraft has violated our airspace over our territorial waters north of Rebun Island, Hokkaido, on three occasions.”
He added that it was the first announced incursion of Japanese airspace by a Russian aircraft since a Tu-96 bomber entered in southern Okinawa in June 2019.
The arrival of the Russian aircraft is believed to have been part of a joint military exercise announced by Russia and China earlier this month. The two countries have been conducting joint drills for more than 20 years, but stepped them up following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the onset of the subsequent war.
These joint drills, which are increasingly taking place in new locations around the world, have alarmed the West and its allies like Japan. Several have taken place this year.
