US nuclear-capable bombers fly with Japanese jets after China-Russia drills, Tokyo says
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Japan’s national flag flutters next to a surveillance camera at the Embassy of Japan in Beijing, China, Nov 18.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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TOKYO – US nuclear-capable bombers flew over the Sea of Japan with Japanese fighter jets, Tokyo said on Dec 11, in a show of force after Chinese and Russian military drills in the skies and seas around Japan and South Korea.
Japan and the US “reaffirmed their strong resolve to prevent any unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force and confirmed the readiness posture of both the Self Defense Forces (SDF) and US forces”, Japan’s Defence Ministry said in a press release on Dec 11.
Two US B-52 strategic bombers flew in formation with six Japanese jets on Dec 10, it added.
The exercise follows a joint flight of Chinese and Japanese strategic bombers in the East China Sea and western Pacific on Dec 9 and separate Chinese aircraft carrier drills that prompted Japan to scramble jets that Tokyo said were targeted by radar beams.
South Korea’s military said it also scrambled fighter jets
The heightened regional tensions come after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi triggered a dispute with Beijing in November with her remarks on how Tokyo might react to a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan
China claims democratically governed Taiwan and has not ruled out using force to take control of the island, which sits just over 100km from Japanese territory and is surrounded by sea lanes on which Tokyo relies. REUTERS
