Around 7 am on the 21st, the Maritime Self-Defense Force's vessels confirmed that five ships, including a frigate and a destroyer of the Russian Navy, passed through the Tsushima Strait in the northeast direction and entered the Sea of Japan from the East China Sea.
After being confirmed off Cape Erimo in Hokkaido on the 15th of this month, the five vessels sailed off the coast of Chiba Prefecture and near the Izu Islands, and on the 19th, they went out to the East China Sea through the waters between the main island of Okinawa and Miyakojima. ..
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced this month that it will conduct a large-scale exercise in the Pacific Ocean involving more than 40 ships, and according to Ministry of Defense officials, five ships are believed to have participated in this exercise. ..
Meanwhile, at around 3:00 am on the 21st, the Maritime Self-Defense Force's vessels confirmed that three ships, including a Chinese Navy missile destroyer, passed between Smith Island and Torishima in the Izu Islands and proceeded west.
After passing eastward through the Soya Strait and Tsugaru Strait, the three vessels are divided into two and, like the five vessels of the Russian Navy, they travel south off the coast of Chiba Prefecture and sail near the Izu Islands.
The Ministry of Defense is proceeding with analysis of the purpose of each navigation, and continues to be vigilant and surveillance, with Russian and Chinese vessels navigating around the Japanese archipelago along similar routes.