japan Scrambles Jets as Russia and China Conduct Joint Patrols

Reuters –

Japan scrambled jets to monitor Russian and Chinese air forces conducting joint patrols around the country late Tuesday, amid rising tensions between Tokyo and Beijing.

Two Russian tu-95 nuclear-capable strategic bombers flew from the Sea of Japan toward the East China Sea to rendezvous with two Chinese H-6 bombers, and performed a “long-distance joint flight” in the Pacific, the japanese Defense Ministry said.

Four Chinese J-16 fighter jets joined the bombers as they made a round-trip flight between Japan’s Okinawa and Miyako islands, the ministry added. The Miyako Strait between the two islands is classified as international waters.