Japan holds 'diplomatic' protests against Russia after airspace breach at Hokkaido

In a major development, Tokyo has lodged a protest with Moscow through diplomatic channels after a Russian aircraft breached Japanese aerospace without authorisation. Earlier on Sunday, the Japanese Ministry of Defence reported that a Russian An-26 aircraft illegally entered Japan’s airspace in the area of Shiretoko Peninsula on the Hokkaido island. Notably, at their closest point, Japan (Hokkaido) and Russia (Sakhalin) are merely 40 kilometres apart. 

“Yesterday, at 9:37 am and at 9:58, a Russian plane violated the airspace of our country near Cape Shiretoko on Hokkaido island. In this regard, the defence ministry scrambled fighters of the Air-Self Defense Force, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs lodged a strong protest with the Russian government through diplomatic channels,” country’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said without revealing what the diplomatic channels were.

Furthermore, the top Japanese lawmaker also disclosed that the aircraft entered the airspace not once, but twice. However, it added that the aircraft appeared to be a civilian vehicle rather than military or surveillance. It is worth mentioning that Moscow itself opted out of the Open Skies Arms Control Treaty which allows unarmed surveillance over the territories of member states including Japan.  

Moscow denies repeated intrusions 

In the past, reports of Moscow military aircraft entering Japan's airspace without authorisation have emerged. Japan’s Defence Ministry had declared that at least two Tupolev Tu-95 bombers from Russian Aerospace Defence Forces were spotted flying over Minamidaito Island — east of Okinawa — and over Hachijo Island — southeast of Tokyo. The two missile strategic bomber aircrafts “were in the airspace for three minutes,” Japan Ministry of Defence spokeswoman had at the time stated at a press conference. The time of the airspace breach was recorded to be 8:53 am and 10:21 am respectively. “Japan Air Self-Defence Force sent out fighter jets to warn these Russian [bombers],” the spokeswoman had stated. The Russian Ministry of Defence, as seen in the past, has denied any reports of encroachment stressing that Russian planes fly in strict compliance with the international rules without any violations of the borders, TASS had reported.

IMAGE: AP/Twitter/Russia government organization