Please register to access this content.
To continue viewing the content you love, please sign in or create a new account
Dismiss
This content is for our paying subscribers only

Japan scrambles jets as Russia aircraft circle country

Russian aircraft flew around the archipelago for the first time in five years



This handout photo taken on September 12, 2024 and received from Japan's Ministry of Defence Joint Staff Office on September 13, 2024 shows a Russian military's Tu-142 patrol aircraft flying almost a full circle around Japan.
Image Credit: AFP

Tokyo: Japan scrambled fighter jets after Russian aircraft flew around the archipelago for the first time in five years, Tokyo said Friday.

From Thursday morning to afternoon, the Russian Tu-142 aircraft flew from the sea between Japan and South Korea towards the southern Okinawa region, according to a defence ministry statement.

They then went northwards over the Pacific Ocean to finish their journey off northern Hokkaido island, it added.

The planes did not enter Japanese airspace but flew over an area subject to a territorial dispute between Japan and Russia, the official said.

"In response, we mobilised Air Self-Defence Force fighter jets on an emergency basis," the ministry statement said.

Advertisement

The last time Russian military aircraft circled Japan was in 2019, a ministry official told AFP on Friday, but that incident involved bombers that did enter the nation's airspace.

Earlier this week, Russian and Chinese warships began joint drills in the Sea of Japan.

The drills are part of a major naval exercise that Russian President Vladimir Putin has described 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.

They declared a "no limits" partnership shortly before Moscow launched its offensive in Ukraine in 2022.

Advertisement

Since the start of the Ukraine conflict, relations have deteriorated sharply between Japan and Russia, which both claim the Kuril Islands - known in Japan as the Northern Territories.

The Soviet Union seized the strategically located volcanic archipelago north of Hokkaido in the final days of World War II, and has maintained a military presence there ever since.

Advertisement