Russia threatens countermeasures over Japanese exercises with NATO countries – Observer

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Russia on Friday expressed its dissatisfaction and warned Japan to take countermeasures due to Japanese plans to carry out military exercises near the Russian border, which will also involve Spain, France and Germany.

Russian diplomacy revealed, in a statement, that it had alerted the Japanese side to the unacceptable nature of the “provocative military activities” close to Russia’s borders in the Far East with NATO members that do not belong to that region.

“We consider these activities a potential threat to the security of the Russian Federation“, can be read in the note from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Moscow warned Tokyo of “appropriate countermeasures” aimed at strengthening Russian defensive capabilities and protecting its sovereignty.

Japan’s Defense Ministry announced Tuesday that the country’s air force will conduct joint maneuvers with Spain, France and Germany next July as part of the European defense initiative ‘Pacific Skies’.

The exercises will take place from July 19 to 25 and aim to “deepen close collaboration with these countries in realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific”, stressed Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara at a press conference.

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As part of this initiative and for almost two months, 28 combat aircraft and 16 large tanker and transport aircraft, all developed by the European defense industry, will travel around 58,000 kilometers from Alaska to India, in the Indo-Pacific area.

The maneuvers with the participation of French forces will take place in Ibaraki (north of Tokyo), while the exercises with Germany and Spain will take place around the Chitose base, on the island of Hokkaido (northern Japan), explained the Japanese Ministry of Defense.