Japan spots Russian warships off coast after joint China-Russia patrols in Western Pacific

Japan’s government said it was keeping a close eye on the Russian ships, which earlier sailed around much of the country in a flotilla with five Chinese ships

Russian and Chinese warships held first joint patrols in the Western Pacific Ocean last week, including jointly passing through the Tsugaru Strait on October 18

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A group of naval vessels from Russia and China conduct a joint maritime military patrol in the Pacific, in this still image taken from a video released last week. Photo: Russian Defence Ministry Handout via Reuters

Kyodoin TokyoandReutersin Moscow

Published: 3:55pm, 25 Oct 2021Updated: 10:11pm, 25 Oct 2021

Japan’s Defence Ministry said on Monday that five Russian ships had passed through the Tsushima Strait in the country’s southwest and entered the Sea of Japan, or East Sea, after previously forming a flotilla with five Chinese ships that sailed around most of the Japanese archipelago.

The 10 Russian and Chinese ships are believed to include vessels that took part in a joint drill conducted by the two countries in the Sea of Japan in mid-October, the ministry said, adding that it was analysing what was behind the latest development.

Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Force spotted the five Russian navy ships sailing northeast, some 140 kilometres southwest of the Japanese island of Tsushima at around 10pm on Saturday before they later entered the Sea of Japan.

A map showing the straits around Japan traversed by Russian ships, on two occasions jointly with Chinese ships. Image: SCMP

At around 10am on Sunday, a helicopter was seen taking off and landing on a frigate, one of the five Russian ships, some 60km northeast of Tsushima.

Japan’s Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihiko Isozaki said the government was following developments with “high interest”.