The US on Tuesday criticized China over alleged radar deployments against Japanese military aircraft during a training exercise last week, while Tokyo and Seoul yesterday scrambled jets after Chinese and Russian military aircraft conducted joint patrols near the two countries.
The incidents came after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi triggered a dispute with Beijing last month with her remarks on how Tokyo might react to a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan.
“China’s actions are not conducive to regional peace and stability,” a US Department of State spokesperson said late on Tuesday, referring to the radar incident.
Photo: AFP / Japanese Ministry of Defense
“The US-Japan alliance is stronger and more united than ever. Our commitment to our ally Japan is unwavering, and we are in close contact on this and other issues.”
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Japan late on Tuesday scrambled jets to monitor Russian and Chinese air forces conducting joint patrols around the country.
Photo: AFP / Japanese Ministry of Defense
The Chinese fighter jets aiming their radars at the Japanese planes on Saturday was the most serious run-in between the East Asian militaries in years.
Such moves are seen as a threatening step because they signal a potential attack and might force targeted planes to take evasive action.
Tokyo called the moves “dangerous.”
Beijing said that the Japanese aircraft had repeatedly approached and disrupted the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy as it was conducting previously announced carrier-based flight training east of the Miyako Strait.
Relations between Asia’s two largest economies have soured sharply since Takaichi told parliament last month that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could amount to a “survival-threatening situation” and trigger a potential military response from Tokyo.
Beijing has demanded she retract the remarks, accused Tokyo of threatening it militarily and advised its citizens not to travel to Japan.
US Ambassador to Japan George Glass has publicly expressed support for Japan in several social media posts since the diplomatic dispute began.
Yesterday, South Korea and Japan protested over the Chinese-Russian joint patrols.
South Korea said it had lodged a protest with representatives of China and Russia, while Japan said it had conveyed its “serious concerns” over national security.
Two Russian Tu-95 nuclear-capable bombers on Tuesday flew from the Sea of Japan to rendezvous with two Chinese H-6 bombers in the East China Sea, then conducted a joint flight around the country, Tokyo said.
The bombers’ joint flights were “clearly intended as a show of force against our nation,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi wrote on X.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said that Tokyo had “conveyed to both China and Russia our serious concerns over our national security through diplomatic channels.”
Seoul on Tuesday said that the Russian and Chinese warplanes entered its air defense identification zone (KADIZ) and that a complaint had been lodged with the defense attaches of both countries in the South Korean capital.
“Our military will continue to respond actively to the activities of neighboring countries’ aircraft within the KADIZ in compliance with international law,” said Lee Kwang-suk, director-general of the South Korean Ministry of National Defense’s International Policy Bureau.
South Korea also said it deployed “fighter jets to take tactical measures in preparation for any contingencies” in response to the Chinese and Russian incursions.
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