Japan, US fly fighters after China exercise

Tokyo, May 26

Japanese and US forces have conducted a joint fighter jet flight over the Sea of Japan, Japan’s military said on Thursday, in an apparent response to a Russia-China joint bomber flight while US President Joe Biden was in Tokyo.

The Japan-US joint flight on Wednesday involved eight warplanes based in Japan, including four US F-16 fighters and four Japanese F-15s, the Joint Staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces said.

The joint flight was meant to confirm the combined capabilities of the two militaries and further strengthen the Japan-US alliance, it said in a statement.

Chinese and Russian strategic bombers conducted joint flights near Japan on Tuesday, Japan’s Defense Ministry said. Biden was meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and their counterparts from India and Australia for the Quad, an Indo-Pacific security and economic coalition meant as a counterweight to China’s growing influence in the region. — AP

N Korea missile test

The drill occurred hours after North Korea fired three missiles, including an intercontinental ballistic missile, toward the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, amid concerns about another nuclear test by the North. The missiles fell in waters outside of Japan’s exclusive economic zone.