By Jason Douglas
TOKYO -- Russian and Chinese bombers flew near Japan and South Korea in a joint patrol Tuesday that Tokyo described as a show of force, adding further strain to the worst diplomatic crisis in years between Tokyo and Beijing.
The military exercise, which Russian state media said lasted around eight hours, comes amid a series of Chinese reprisals against Tokyo over remarks last month by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggesting that Japan might be dragged into any conflict over Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own.
The joint Chinese patrol with Russia follows another tense incident on Saturday, when Japan said Chinese warplanes locked radar on Japanese military aircraft near Okinawa, drawing protests from Tokyo and a rebuke from the U.S.
"China's actions are not conducive to regional peace and stability," a U.S. State Department spokesman said in a statement late Tuesday, referring to Saturday's confrontation. "The U.S.-Japan Alliance is stronger and more united than ever. Our commitment to our ally Japan is unwavering, and we are in close contact on this and other issues."
Japan's defense ministry said that on Tuesday, two Russian TU-95 bombers flew from the Sea of Japan through the Tsushima Strait that separates Japan and South Korea to the East China Sea, where they rendezvoused with two Chinese H-6 bombers. The Russian aircraft are long-range, strategic bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons. The Chinese planes are capable of carrying long-range cruise missiles.
The Russian and Chinese aircraft flew close to the Japanese island of Okinawa and then east to the waters close to Shikoku, one of Japan's major islands in the southwest, about 375 miles from Tokyo, the defense ministry said. The ministry said the bomber patrol was joined during the flight by eight Chinese J-16 jet fighters and a Russian A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft.
Japan's Air Self-Defense Force scrambled jet fighters to monitor the Russian and Chinese planes and ensure they didn't violate Japanese airspace, the defense ministry said.
"The repeated joint flights of bombers by both countries signify an expansion and intensification of activities around our country, while clearly intending to demonstrate force against our nation, posing a serious concern for our national security," Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said in a message on his official account on X.
South Korea also scrambled a fighter to monitor the patrol, the country's military said. The Russian and Chinese aircraft didn't enter Korea's territorial airspace, the military said.
Relations between Beijing and Tokyo are in crisis after Takaichi angered China's ruling Communist Party when she said early in November that an attack on Taiwan could drag Japan into conflict in defense of itself and its allies, which include the U.S.
Beijing says Taiwan -- which it has pledged to take by force, if necessary -- is a purely domestic affair and reacted with fury. It urged Chinese travelers to stay away from Japan, threatened to stop imports of Japanese seafood, and continues to wage a campaign against Takaichi herself in diplomatic circles and state and social media, where it accuses her of seeking to revive Japan's wartime militarism.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass has expressed support for Japan but senior U.S. officials including President Trump have publicly stayed out of the dispute. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had told Takaichi not to provoke Beijing over Taiwan, which the Japanese government denied.
Russia and China say the bomber patrol was a normal part of regular cooperation between their militaries. Russia and China have conducted joint bomber flights since 2019. In July last year a joint patrol flew near Alaska.
Tuesday's patrol was the 10th such bomber flight in the East China Sea and Western Pacific as part of annual military exercises between Russia and China, China's Ministry of National Defense said in a statement on X.
Russia's defense ministry said both countries' aircraft operated strictly in accordance with international law and there was no violation of other countries' airspaces, according to Russian state media.
"On completing the joint air patrol all the aircraft involved returned to their airfields. The event was held as part of the implementation of the 2025 military cooperation plan and is not directed against third countries," the Russian defense ministry said, according to Russia's Interfax news agency.
Write to Jason Douglas at jason.douglas@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 09, 2025 23:20 ET (04:20 GMT)
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