Japan said it scrambled jets after Russian and Chinese warplanes neared its airspace while Tokyo was hosting the Quad leaders. Tokyo called the drills a provocation.
It was the first joint military exercise by China and Russia since Moscow invaded Ukraine on February 24, a senior US official said, and it came at the end of Mr Biden’s four-day trip to South Korea and Japan.
Mr Biden’s trip was part of US efforts to push back against what Washington calls Beijing’s “coercive” behaviour, including against Taiwan, a self-ruled island Beijing claims as it own. It was the latest in a series of apparently off-the-cuff assertions that suggest his personal inclination is to defend the island, although Mr Biden said US policy had not changed.Some critics have said he has misspoken or made a gaffe. But other analysts have suggested that, given Mr Biden’s extensive foreign policy experience and the context – he was speaking next to the Japanese prime minister and while the war in Ukraine raged on – he had not spoken in error.
The Quad meeting brought Mr Biden together with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Rand Corporation analyst Derek Grossman said the drills were “clearly designed to signal Beijing’s frustration with the Quad summit and all of President Biden’s proceedings over the last few days”.He said Moscow could also be returning the favour after Beijing supported the Russian narrative that the United States and NATO are to blame for the Ukraine war.
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