Air exercise held after China-Russia patrols

Japan said yesterday it held a joint air exercise with the United States in a show of force, days after Chinese-Russian patrols in the region and following weeks of diplomatic feuding between Tokyo and Beijing.

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Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Tuesday.

(AFP)

The Japanese joint chiefs of staff said Wednesday's exercise with the US Air Force was conducted in "an increasingly severe security environment surrounding our country.

Tokyo said Wednesday that two Russian Tu-95 nuclear-capable bombers flew a day earlier from the Sea of Japan to rendezvous with two Chinese H-6 bombers in the East China Sea, then conducted a joint flight around the country.

Japan said that it scrambled fighter jets in response.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi angered Beijing last month by suggesting that Japan would intervene with military force in any Chinese attack on Taiwan.