Japan scrambled fighter jets after Russian bombers flew over international waters around the country, Tokyo’s top government spokesman said Friday.
“We confirmed that Russian military bombers and fighter jets flew over… the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan yesterday, and we scrambled Air Self-Defense Force fighter jets” in response, Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters.
“It is difficult to say clearly what the purpose of the flight was… but the Russian military has been active on an ongoing basis in areas surrounding Japan,” he said.
Tokyo has raised the issue of closeby military flights with Moscow in the past through diplomatic routes, including a Russian fighter jet’s intrusion into its airspace in September, which Russia denied according to media reports.
“We will continue to monitor [the situation] closely and do our best to take measures in patrolling and responding to airspace incursions,” Hayashi said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Thursday that two long-range bombers flew over international waters in the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk.
It also released a video of two Tupolev-95 aircraft escorted by Russian fighter jets conducting what it called a regular flight that lasted more than eight hours.
“All flights by Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft are carried out in strict compliance with international rules on the use of airspace,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
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