Russia is closely monitoring the intensification of Japanese-US maneuvers near its Far Eastern borders and regularly warns Tokyo that it will be forced to take countermeasures to block military threats, Russian Ambassador to Japan Nikolay Nozdrev said in an interview with Sputnik on the occasion of World War II Victory Day, celebrated in Russia on May 9.
“We are closely monitoring the intensification of Japanese-American maneuvers, including with the involvement of external actors, near our Far Eastern borders. We regularly warn Tokyo that if such activity continues, we will be forced to take counter-steps in order to block military threats to Russia,” Nozdrev said.
The ambassador added that the administration of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida continues to adhere to the course of accelerated militarization and consistent dismantling of the constitution's pacifist provisions, which the country has been proud of for decades.
“We are talking about a significant increase in military spending, acquiring strike potential, lifting self-restrictions on arms exports, as well as a significant deepening of military cooperation with Washington. These practical steps, coupled with a complete disregard for postwar realities, attempts to rewrite history and the inculcation of revanchist sentiments in society, raise a lot of concerns in our country and in other states neighboring Japan,” Nozdrev said.
In mid-December 2022, Japan adopted three key defense and security documents: the National Security Strategy, which defines the main areas of foreign defense policy, the National Defense Strategy, which outlines the goals and means of defense, and the Defense Buildup Program, which determines overall defense spending and the scale of weapons. The three documents outline a gradual increase in Japan's defense spending to 2% of GDP by 2027.
The US Army said in mid-April in a press release that it had deployed the Mid-Range Capability, also known as the Typhon Weapon System, to Northern Luzon, Philippines, as part of the Salaknib 24 exercise, on April 11.
On April 11, the United States, Japan and the Philippines met in Washington for the first-ever trilateral summit. In a joint statement released following the meeting, the countries vowed to support a peaceful and open Indo-Pacific region, with support from the Quad and AUKUS defense and strategic alliances. The parties agreed to develop trilateral defense cooperation, holding joint naval drills and exercises among the three countries and additional partners.