Russian and Chinese naval forces step up operations near US ally

Russian and Chinese naval forces stepped up maneuvers in the Western Pacific in June as their respective summer training plans shifted into high gear, according to Japanese government reports.

NewsweekThe map shows Russian and Chinese ships frequently using shipping lanes near Japan, a close U.S. ally, including the Miyako, Osumi and Tsushima Straits to the southwest and the Tsugaru and La Pérouse Straits to the north.

Japan disputes territory with Russia (the Kuril Islands in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk) and China (the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea) and shares maritime borders with a potential adversary, Kim's North Korea Jong Un.

Collectively, the strategic waterways of its archipelagic territory are part of what is known as the First Island Chain, a Cold War-era defense strategy that aimed to blockade the Soviet and Chinese navies at points of strangulation while attempting to transit through friendly territory of the United States to the archipelago. vast waters of the Pacific Ocean.

Regular disclosures from the Joint Staff Office of the Japanese Defense Ministry roughly trace the movements of the two countries' warships, which are usually tracked and photographed by the ships and aircraft of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.

In June, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the Japanese navy intercepted 14 Russian and Chinese flotillas, a total of 27 ships, as well as four fleets in May and seven in April, the first month of fiscal 2024.

Among the Russian warships detected near its coast was the Udaloy-class destroyer Admiral Panteleyev and the Ropucha-class landing ships Osliabya And Peresvet— all together with the Russian Pacific Fleet — which sailed into the Western Pacific on June 18 via the Tsugaru Strait.

Tokyo said on Friday that China's Luyang-III-class destroyer Kaifeng and Jiangkai-II class frigate Yantai-assigned to the Chinese North Sea Fleet- returned to the East China Sea the day before after maneuvers in the western Pacific.

The two warships had been seen sailing in opposite directions through the Osumi Strait, south of Kyushu, Japan's southernmost main island, on June 26.

The Russian Pacific Fleet is based in the closed city of Fokino in the Peter the Great Gulf in the Sea of ​​Japan. China's East Sea Fleet is based in Ningbo and its North Sea Fleet in Qingdao, two port cities on its eastern coast.

None of the Russian or Chinese ships have been accused of violating Japanese territorial waters.

The Russian and Chinese navies last trained in March in an event involving Iran. Last July, the two armies held joint exercises involving a significant naval component, with flotillas of warships traveling thousands of kilometers from the Sea of ​​Japan to the Western Pacific, partially encircling Japan.

The neighbors are expected to send navy ships to the same waters in the coming weeks, in what is seen as a growing strategic alignment between Beijing and Moscow.

Separately, on Friday, the Russian Pacific Fleet concluded 10 days of maneuvers in the region, deploying 40 ships, combat aircraft and helicopters as part of the training event.

The Russian and Chinese defense ministries could not be reached for comment after hours.