The Russian and Chinese militaries have sent spy ships to waters close to United States treaty ally Japan, Tokyo reported on Monday.
Newsweek has emailed the Russian and Chinese defense ministries for comment.
Why It Matters
Japan, as well as Taiwan and the Philippines, are part of the first island chain, a U.S. defense concept that seeks to leverage allied and friendly territories to constrain military activities by Washington’s adversaries.
Russia and China, which have formed a quasi-alliance against America and its allies, have frequently sent military aircraft and ships on patrols and drills near Japan, prompting Japanese forces to scramble to prevent violations of its sovereign airspace and territorial waters.
What To Know
A Russian spy ship, the Kareliya, has been spotted operating in the Philippine Sea off Japan’s coast since February 1. It sailed northward from waters near Japan’s southwestern islands and arrived off Kyushu, one of the country’s four large main islands.
Japanese Defense Ministry
The Russian vessel on Sunday passed through the Osumi Strait, located to the south of Kyushu, and reached the East China Sea. It did not enter Japan’s 12-nautical-mile-wide territorial waters, a map provided by the Japanese Defense Ministry showed.
The Kareliya first arrived in the East China Sea last November from Russia’s Far East region via the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea in South Korea, and the Tsushima Strait and later reached the Philippine Sea via the Miyako Strait, the Japanese military said.
Meanwhile, a Chinese Type 815A spy ship, CNS Yuhengxing, transited from the East China Sea to the Philippine Sea on Saturday via the Miyako Strait, which is a major gateway for the Chinese navy in the event of deployment to the wider Pacific Ocean.
The Japanese Defense Ministry said it has sent ships and aircraft to monitor the Russian and Chinese spy ships and collected intelligence as they sailed close to Japan’s waters.
In addition to the Yuhengxing, the Japanese air force detected and intercepted a Chinese Y-9 anti-submarine warfare aircraft flying back and forth between the East China Sea and the Philippine Sea over the Miyako Strait on Monday and Tuesday, Tokyo announced.
What People Are Saying
The Japanese 2024 Defense White Paper read: “China has been rapidly building up military capabilities while intensifying its activities in the East China Sea…as well as in the Pacific…Russia has also been observed engaging in joint activities with China involving aircraft and vessels.”
Senior Colonel Wu Qian, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson, said on December 13, 2024: “Japan has been closely tracking, monitoring and harassing operations of Chinese vessels and aircraft, which has endangered the safety of the Chinese vessels and aircraft, and can easily trigger incidents at sea or in the air.”
What Happens Next
While Chinese forces continue to operate near Japan, it remains to be seen whether they will coordinate their activities in the Western Pacific Ocean with the Russian military.
