Russian And Chinese Bombers Near Japanese Airspace As US President Attends Quad Meeting, Moscow: Joint Patrol

President Biden, PM KIshida and PM Modi during a meeting in Tokyo, Japan. (Twitter/@JPN_PMO)

JAKARTA - Japan flew its fighter jets after Russian and Chinese warplanes approached its airspace on Tuesday, when Tokyo hosted the leaders of the Quad group of nations that included United States President Joe Biden, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said.

Tokyo expresses "grave concerns" to Russia and China via diplomatic channels, Kishi said at a news conference broadcast online.

He flagged the incident as a possible provocation by Beijing and Moscow, on a day when Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, US President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australia's newly elected leader, Anthony Albanese, met in Tokyo.

"We believe the fact that this action was taken during the Quad Summit makes it more provocative than in the past," he explained, adding it was the fourth incident since November.

Two Chinese warplanes flew over the Sea of Japan from the East China Sea and then joined two Russian warplanes to fly together towards the East China Sea, Kishi said.

Later, the two Chinese warplanes were replaced by another pair believed to be Chinese, which then flew with Russia on a long flight to the Pacific Ocean, he said.

A Russian reconnaissance plane also flew over the high seas from the northern island of Hokkaido to the Noto peninsula on Japan's main island. None of the planes entered Japanese airspace, he added.

Russia and China have both confirmed they are conducting joint patrols. Russia's defense ministry said the patrol lasted 13 hours over the seas of Japan and East China.

The joint patrol lasted 13 hours over the seas of Japan and East China and involved Russian Tu-95 strategic bombers and Chinese Xian H-6 jets, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Meanwhile, China's Defense Ministry said the drills were part of an annual military cooperation plan.

Separately, South Korea's military said it deployed warplanes after at least four Chinese and four Russian warplanes entered the air defense zone on Tuesday. Read more

It was not immediately clear whether the two events were linked or whether the same fighter aircraft was involved.