Japan says China, Russia jets flew nearby Quad meeting

Japan has been kept on high alert, scrambling jets after detecting a bold gesture from both China and Russia as four world leaders met in Tokyo this week.

Chinese and Russian fighter jets carried out joint flights near Japan on Tuesday as leaders of the Quad bloc met in Tokyo, Japanese Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi has said.

Mr Kishi said the government had expressed “grave concerns” to Russia and China over the flights, which took place while leaders from the United States, India, Australia and Japan held talks on regional security.

The planes did not breach territorial airspace, the defence ministry told AFP, and it was the fourth time since November that long-distance joint flights by Russia and China had been spotted near Japan.

Chinese and Russian fighter jets carried out joint flights near Japan as leaders of the Quad met this week.

“Two Chinese bombers joined two Russian bombers in the Sea of Japan and made a joint flight to the East China Sea,” Mr Kishi told reporters.

“After that, a total of four aircraft, two presumed (new) Chinese bombers – which replaced the two Chinese bombers – and two Russian bombers, conducted a joint flight from the East China Sea to the Pacific Ocean.”

He said a Russian intelligence-gathering aircraft also flew off northern Hokkaido to the Noto Peninsula in central Japan on Tuesday, calling the moves especially “provocative” given the summit in Tokyo.

Beijing confirmed the flights in a short statement, and said it was in line with the Chinese and Russian “annual military co-operation plan”.

The move was described as ‘provocative’ given the summit in Tokyo.

“On May 24, both countries’ air forces organised and carried out a routine joint strategic mid-air patrol in the airspace above the Sea of Japan, East China Sea and Western Pacific maritime areas,” a statement from the ministry of defence said.

The Quad leaders on Tuesday warned against attempts to “change the status quo by force”, although they avoided direct references to Russia or China in a joint statement.

Their statement referred to the war in Ukraine, however, and warned against a range of activities which Beijing has regularly been accused of in the region.

Mr Kishi said Japan had “communicated through diplomatic routes our grave concerns from the perspective of our country’s and the region’s security”.

The government had expressed ‘grave concerns’ to Russia and China over the flights, which took place while leaders were discussing security in the region.

“As the international community responds to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the fact that China took such action in collaboration with Russia, which is the aggressor, is cause for concern. It cannot be overlooked.”

Japan, which has volatile ties and border disputes with its neighbours China, Russia and South Korea, routinely sends jets to defend its air borders.

The country scrambled military jets 1004 times in the year to March, the second-highest count on record, according to the defence ministry.

Most were to counter approaching Chinese aircraft, although many of the rest involved Russian aircraft.

Australian PM Anthony Albanese issues warning to China

By Ellen Ransley, NCA Newswire

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has warned China the only way to improve its relationship with Australia is by removing trade bans.

After years of strained diplomatic relations between the two countries, the incoming Prime Minister told the Quad meeting his government, on behalf of Australia, would seek good relations with all countries – but would not be soft on China.

In his address, Mr Albanese urged Beijing to lift trade tariffs it imposed on Australian goods such as barley, wine, coal and seafood.

“Australia seeks good relations with all countries,” Mr Albanese said in Tokyo.

“But it’s not Australia that’s changed, China has. It is China that has placed sanctions on Australia.

“There is no justification for doing that. And that’s why they should be removed.”

Mr Albanese’s first comments as Prime Minister about China comes as he confirmed he had received a letter of congratulations from Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

The Quad leaders, which include US President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, reaffirmed their commitment to a secure and peaceful Indo-Pacific at the meeting on Tuesday.

In a joint statement, the four leaders directly referenced China’s military expansion in the South China Sea and its claims over Taiwan.

“We strongly oppose any coercive, provocative, or unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo and increase tensions in the area, such as the militarisation of disputed features,” the statement read.

Originally published as Japan says China, Russia jets flew nearby Quad meeting