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Japan Warns Growing Military Ties Between Russia, China and North Korea Threaten Regional Security
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Japan plans to strengthen its military capacity as expanding security coordination between China, Russia, and North Korea creates escalating security risks, according to the annual Defense Ministry White Paper released on August 4.
The report points out that joint flights by Chinese and Russian strategic bombers near Japan have been occurring at least once a year since 2019, with flights in December last year and June this year passing over southern Japanese islands and turning directly toward Tokyo for the first time, as reported by Bloomberg.
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The increased activity led Japanese fighter jets to scramble at a three-year high during the first quarter of this year, according to Ministry of Defense data released in July.
The defense document notes that Moscow is actively supporting North Korea's military modernization, while Chinese and Russian bombers carry out increasingly provocative patrols.
These expanding maneuvers take place alongside attempts by Beijing to push Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to withdraw statements regarding Taiwan made in parliament last November.
"Joint flights of Chinese and Russian bombers and naval exercises are clearly intended as a demonstration of force against our country and pose a serious concern for national security," the review states.
Riho Aizawa, a researcher at the National Institute for Defense Studies in Tokyo, noted that "This indicates that China and Moscow are coordinating more closely to send a political signal through military exercises."
She added that "China and Russia now have a relationship in which the PRC can exert pressure on Japan with the support of Russian military power when it suits Beijing's political interests."
In response to these developments, Japan's military has frequently scrambled fighters to address combined airborne threats from Moscow and Beijing.
During a July 2026 operation, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force scrambled fighter jets from its Western Air Defense Force and other units after a suspected airspace violation in the East China Sea.
Japan’s Ministry of Defense confirmed the emergency response on social media, emphasizing its commitment to round-the-clock defense while withholding specific operational details or the identity of the aircraft involved.
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