Japan recently had to scramble fighter jets in response to Russian aircraft flying around the Japanese archipelago for the first time in five years. The Russian Tu-142 aircraft flew near the sea between Japan and South Korea, then headed towards the southern Okinawa region before flying north over the Pacific Ocean and finally ending their journey off the northern island of Hokkaido. Although the Russian planes did not enter Japanese airspace, they flew over an area that Japan and Russia have a territorial dispute over. This prompted Japan to mobilize Air Self-Defence Force fighter jets as a precautionary measure. This incident marks the first time since 2019 that Russian military aircraft have circled Japan, although that previous event involved bombers that did breach Japanese airspace.
Furthermore, Russian and Chinese warships recently conducted joint drills in the Sea of Japan as part of a significant naval exercise, described by Russian President Vladimir Putin as the largest in three decades. The cooperation between Russia and China in military matters has increased in recent years, with both countries expressing their discontent with what they perceive as US dominance in global affairs. The two nations established a comprehensive partnership shortly before Russia initiated its offensive in Ukraine in 2022.
Notably, Japan also had to scramble fighter jets in response to a Chinese military aircraft violating its airspace in late August. The incursion by the Y-9 surveillance aircraft was the first of its kind by a Chinese military plane into Japanese airspace. Tensions have escalated between Japan and Russia since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, as both countries claim sovereignty over the Kuril Islands, referred to as the Northern Territories in Japan. The Soviet Union took control of the strategically located archipelago north of Hokkaido in the final days of World War II and has maintained a military presence there since then.