Japan spots Russian warships near Taiwan, Okinawa islands, raises concerns

The Japanese defence ministrylate Friday said it had spotted two Russian Navy ships in waters near Taiwan and its Okinawa islands in the last four days. The announcement comes days after Taiwan also reported spotting two Russian warships off its eastern coast.

The Japanese military said it had spotted two Steregushchy-class frigates, 70 km southwest of the country's Yonaguni island in Okinawa prefecture near Taiwan, on Tuesday.

The warships sailed back and forth in the waters between the island and Taiwan and were last spotted on Friday betweenMiyako and Okinawa islands. The military said it had dispatched two vessels to monitor the Russian ships for their activity.

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Japan raises 'concerns'

The Japanese government has raised concerns over the repeated Russian military activity near its territory, including joint drills with China. Tokyo said such exercises posed "serious concern" for Japan's national security.

"Such repeated joint flights by the strategic bombers of the two countries in the vicinity of our country signify the expansion of activities in the vicinity of our country, and are clearly intended to act arbitrarily against our country," Matsuno, the government's top spokesperson, said.

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Earlier this week, Taiwan's defence ministry in a statement said the two frigates sailed in a northerly direction off Taiwan's east coast and then "departed from our response zone" in a southeasterly direction off the port city of Suao, which is home to a major Taiwanese naval base.

Akin to Japan, the Taiwanese military also dispatched aircraft and ships to keep watch on the warship's activities. Some reports stated that Taipei also activated its shore-based missile systems as a countermeasure if things turned pear-shaped.

Meanwhile, Russian news agencies reported that the warships, sailing in the region were part ofthe Russian Pacific Fleet. They had entered the southern parts of the Philippine Sea to perform tasks as part of a long-range sea passage.

Russia-China bonhomie

Notably, Japan and Taiwan have joined theUnited States and other Western allies in imposing wide-ranging sanctions on Russia, since President Vladimir Putin's men invaded Ukraine in February last year.

The war, however, has brought Moscow and Beijing closer. The visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Moscow earlier this year strengthened the ties and the two countries have since forged a united front to keep rivals in check. Regarding the movement in the international waters in the region, Beijing maintains that its patrols with Russia had not targeted any third party.

(With inputs from agencies)

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