Move FM Global News

JAPAN, Tokyo: After a similar announcement this week from Taiwan, Japan’s defense ministry said over the past four days, two Russian Navy ships were spotted in the waters near Taiwan and Okinawa.

Last week, Taiwan’s defense ministry said two Russian frigates were located off its eastern coast, adding that it sent aircraft and ships to monitor them.

In June, Tokyo said that Russian military activity near Japanese territory, including joint drills with Chinese forces, posed a “serious concern” for Japan’s national security.

Joining the US and its allies, Japan and Taiwan imposed sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

“Two Steregushchy-class frigates were first spotted 40 miles southwest of Japan’s westernmost island of Yonaguni, in Okinawa prefecture near Taiwan,” the Japanese ministry said.

“The ships sailed back and forth through the waters between Yonaguni and Taiwan, moved eastward and were last spotted on June 30 in the waters between Miyako and Okinawa islands,” it added.

Last week, Russia’s Interfax news agency said that ships from the Russian Pacific Fleet had entered the southern parts of the Philippine Sea to perform tasks as part of a long-range sea passage.