A few days ago, NATO openly stated that NATO does not have a strategy of "moving eastward" to intervene in the Asia-Pacific region, but the United States, as the leader of NATO, is constantly increasing the intensity of its military activities in the Asia-Pacific region. Since the beginning of 2024, the United States has participated in a number of military exercises, including joint military exercises with the Philippines. The United States and the Philippines are currently holding the "Shoulder to Shoulder 2024" joint military exercise, which is part of a demonstration on China's doorstep, with more than 11,000 troops deployed by the U.S. military and 5,000 people from the Philippines. During the joint military exercise between the United States and the Philippines, the U.S. Air Force used B-52H strategic nuclear bombardment to approach the airspace near the first island chain on April 25.
Just when the U.S. Air Force was also aggressive, Russia had already made a move, and the Japanese Ministry of Defense's Joint Staff Supervision Department issued an announcement on April 25, disclosing the movements of Russian naval and air fighters in the Sea of Japan. The Russian Air Force used the Il-20 electronic reconnaissance plane, and the Russian Navy used the Il-38 maritime anti-submarine patrol plane, and at the same time approached Japan in the airspace over the Sea of Japan to carry out intelligence collection missions. Judging by Russia's actions, it is to see whose fist is hard, because Russia is already putting pressure on the United States by approaching Japan. The United States has pledged to provide security protection to Japan, and for this reason the "US-Japan Security Treaty" has been signed, and the imminence of Russian naval and air warplanes in Japan is a direct test of the United States' ability to deliver on it.
In fact, for a long time, it was the Japan Air Self-Defense Force that responded to Russian fighters approaching Japan, and the Japanese Ministry of Defense publicly stated that the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force used fighter jets to take off urgently on the 25th, so as to track and monitor the fighters of the Russian Air Force and Navy. Judging by the information released by Japan, the F-15J/DJ fighter and the F-2A/B fighter were used to deal with the large platform of Russia. The imminence of Russia's naval and air forces extends from Hokkaido to the airspace around Honshu, so the Japan Air Self-Defense Force will have to work together with multiple bases to fully respond to the situation. At present, in addition to F-15J/DJ fighters and F-2A/B fighters, the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force has F-35A fighters deployed in the northern airspace, and it has combat readiness.
Regarding the patrol mission of the Russian Air Force and Navy platforms at Japan's doorstep, the Japanese Ministry of Defense's Unified Staff Supervision Department dared not speak out, because Russian fighters did not enter Japan's airspace, so the fighters of the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force could only watch. Judging from the data released by Japan, the frequency of interception of Russian fighters by Japanese air self-defense is not very high, and the emergency take-off of Japanese fighters is mainly aimed at the PLA. Japan often uses fighter jets to enter the airspace of the East China Sea to carry out missions, and in addition, fighter jets enter the airspace of the western Pacific to intercept PLA fighters cruising in the far seas.
Russia's actions in the Sea of Japan will not only put Japan in a passive position, but will actually disrupt the deployment of the US military, and when the US Air Force is approaching with the B-52H strategic nuclear bombardment, Russia has directly disrupted the US Air Force's deterrence plan by cruising in the Sea of Japan. For Russia, both the Il-20 and the Il-38 can easily demonstrate at the doorstep of Japan, because it is near the Russian Far East, and it is obvious that the US Air Force is exhausted, because it is from the mainland of the United States, and the B-52H has to fly to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam.