Japan scrambled fighter jets on Thursday after Russian aircraft flew around the archipelago for the first time in five years, according to a defense ministry statement. The Russian Tu-142 aircraft flew from the sea between Japan and South Korea towards the southern Okinawa region, then traveled north over the Pacific Ocean and finished their journey off the northern island of Hokkaido.
“In response, we mobilized Air Self-Defence Force fighter jets on an emergency basis,” the statement said.
The Russian planes did not enter Japanese airspace but flew over an area subject to a territorial dispute between Japan and Russia. This incident has raised concerns amidst already strained relations between Japan and Russia, which both claim the Kuril Islands.
“The last time Russian military aircraft circled Japan was in 2019, but that incident involved bombers that did enter the nation’s airspace,” said a ministry official.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has described the ongoing joint drills with China as the largest of its kind in three decades. Russia and China have ramped up military cooperation in recent years, with both railing against what they see as the US domination of global affairs.
This incident follows a similar incident in late August when Japan scrambled fighter jets after a Chinese military aircraft “violated” its airspace.