The Defense Ministry confirmed the presence of three Chinese warships and six Russian warships in waters near Japan, the ministry said Monday.
The three vessels belonging to the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy included a Luyang-III class missile destroyer and a Jiangkai-II class frigate. They were detected in waters 120 kilometers northwest of Kumejima island in Okinawa Prefecture at around 9 a.m. Sunday.
They had moved to the Pacific Ocean by Monday after passing south between the Okinawa main island and Miyakojima island.
The Russian Navy vessels, which included two Tarantul-III class missile corvettes and an Udaloy-I class destroyer, were detected sailing in waters west of Cape Soya in Hokkaido from around 5 p.m. Saturday to around 7 a.m. Sunday, passing through the Soya Strait and heading east by Monday.
None of the vessels entered Japanese territorial waters, and they were followed by Self-Defense Forces P-3C patrol planes and other aircraft, according to the ministry.
The SDF conducted a joint military drill with the navies of the United States, France and Australia in the East China Sea from May 11 to Monday. The ministry is analyzing the intentions of the Chinese and Russian navies.
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