US bombers, which have nuclear weapons bays, flew over the Sea of Japan together with Japanese fighter jets, Tokyo announced, Reuters reported, noting that this was a show of force against the backdrop of Sino-Russian exercises in the region, BTA reported.
“Japan and the United States reaffirmed their determination to prevent any unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force and declared the readiness of the Self-Defense Forces (of Japan) and US troops“, the Japanese Defense Ministry said in a press release today.
The flyover of two US B-52 strategic bombers together with three Japanese F-35 stealth fighters and three F-15s is the first such display of American military presence since China began its exercises in the region last week.
It follows a joint flight of Chinese and Russian strategic bombers over the East China Sea and the western Pacific Ocean on Tuesday, as well as separate exercises with a Chinese aircraft carrier that forced Japan to scramble its fighter jets. According to Tokyo, radars of Chinese warplanes were aimed at them, Reuters explained.
Beijing denied Tokyo's accusations, saying that Japanese fighter jets flying close to the aircraft carrier had endangered its air operations south of Japan.
The incident drew criticism from the United States, which said the incident "does not contribute to regional peace and stability" and affirmed that the alliance with Japan remains "unwavering."
Both Japan and South Korea host US troops, with Japan hosting the largest concentration of US military forces outside the US, including an aircraft carrier strike group and a Marine expeditionary force.
The South Korean military said it had also scrambled fighter jets after Chinese and Russian planes entered South Korea's air defense identification zone, which extends beyond the country's airspace and serves as an early warning system.