Japan scrambles jets against Chinese, Russian aircrafts

ANKARA

Japan on Wednesday claimed that two Chinese bombers and two suspected Russian airplanes flew above the Sea of Japan, also known as East Sea in South Korea.

“The two Chinese H-6 bombers flew through the Tsushima Strait in southwestern Japan from the East China Sea to the Sea of Japan in the morning before heading northward while the two suspected Russian aircraft reversed their direction from southward and headed for the north above nearby waters," Kyodo News Agency quoted the Japan’s Defense Ministry as saying.

However, the ministry didn't share more details and said Japan Air Self-Defense Force fighter jets scrambled in response to the flight.

The term "Sea of Japan" is used by Japan, while South Korea prefers to call it the "East Sea." Both countries claim sovereignty over the Liancourt Rocks, a group of small islets in the sea that are referred to as Dokdo in Korea and Takeshima in Japan.

On May 24, Japan also claimed that six Chinese and Russian aircraft flew over waters near Japan which Tokyo believed was an apparent protest against a Quad meeting between the US, Japan, Australia, and India in Tokyo, according to the agency.

The latest incident came after the Japanese coast guard on Friday claimed that Chinese ships with the largest cannon in the East China Sea intruded into its territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands for the second time in a single day.

The incident occurred just a week after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for the first time in person at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Thailand.

Last week, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno criticized Beijing for violating international law and said Tokyo also lodged a protest with Beijing through diplomatic channels.

Beijing and Tokyo are at odds over Japan's Senkaku Islands, which Beijing claims and refers to as the Diaoyu Islands.