The Japanese Ministry of Defense announced on the 21st that Chinese and Russian naval forces conducted combat exercises in Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) on the 19th, noting that a Chinese vessel performed machine gun firing drills.

According to local media outlets, including Kyodo News, the Joint Staff Office of the Ministry of Defense stated that four Chinese and Russian naval vessels were sighted navigating the waters southwest of Okinotorishima, Tokyo, around 2:00 a.m. on the 19th, and that a Chinese missile destroyer conducted firing drills approximately 180 km southwest of Okinotorishima.

A Chinese navy missile destroyer conducting firing drills in Japan's EEZ [Captured from the Japanese Ministry of Defense Joint Staff Office data]

Kyodo News reported that the exercise appears to be part of the joint maritime drills in the Pacific previously announced by China and Russia, identifying the participating vessels as two Chinese missile destroyers, one supply ship, and one Russian frigate.

The Ministry of Defense explained that this is the first time it has confirmed and publicly announced firing by a Chinese vessel within Japan's EEZ.

The ministry stated that it lodged a protest with the Chinese side through diplomatic channels, asserting that China's firing drills could pose a threat to the safety of vessels navigating in the vicinity.

No damage to nearby ships resulting from these Chinese firing drills has been reported.

Prior to the Ministry of Defense's announcement, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who is attending an air show in the UK, remarked in his keynote address on the 20th (local time) that "Chinese and Russian naval vessels conducted combat exercises within Japan's EEZ," adding that "China and Russia are strengthening their military cooperation."

Minister Koizumi met with his British and Italian counterparts to emphasize cooperation on the 'Global Combat Air Programme' (GCAP), a next-generation fighter jet development project pursued by the three nations.

According to NHK, he emphasized during his keynote address at the air show that "defense production capability is deterrence," adding that "the defense industry can no longer be completed by a single nation, and cooperation with friendly nations such as those in Europe is essential for Japan."

Following the Japanese government's decision in April to allow the export of lethal weapons in principle, the Japan Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency participated in the UK air show—one of the world's largest aviation exhibitions—as an exhibitor for the first time.