Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera expressed concern Friday after China carried out an unprecedented military drill a day earlier that took six of its bombe
Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera expressed concern Friday after China carried out an unprecedented military drill a day earlier that took six of its bombers close to Japanese territory.
The H-6 bombers had flown a route that took them through the Miyako Strait between the islands of Okinawa and Miyako in the East China Sea to the skies off Kansai’s Kii Peninsula for the first time, according to the Defense Ministry.
“It was the first time we have recorded Chinese military aircraft flying this route, ” Onodera said, according to a transcript of a regular press briefing Friday.
“We expressed our concern through diplomatic channels, ” Onodera said, adding that Japan would continue to monitor the situation.
The bombers did not enter Japanese airspace, but the Defense Ministry said late Thursday that it scrambled fighters in response. Tokyo has been unnerved by China’s continued flights near Japanese territory as it seeks to flex its growing military muscle.
The Chinese Defense Ministry said late Thursday in a statement that the “normal” drills accorded with international law and were part of an “ordinary need” to bolster actual combat abilities and strengthen the military.
It said no amount of interference or shadowing — likely a veiled reference to the Japanese scrambles — would prevent the long-range exercises from continuing.
