Russian and Chinese navy ships enter east China Sea
Japan has been closely monitoring Russian and Chinese naval vessels this week as they navigated strategic East Asian waterways.
A map created by Newsweek using data released Thursday by the Japan Joint Staff illustrates the movements of these ships along the belt of islands and archipelagoes known as the “First Island Chain.”
The Chinese warships are shown to have transited the narrow strip of water between Taiwan’s east coast from nearby Japanese islands, while the Russian vessel traversed the Tsushima Strait separating Japan from the Korean Peninsula.
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), the country’s de facto navy, said that around 10 a.m. on Wednesday, one of its patrols spotted the Russian Vishnya-class intelligence-gathering ship Kareliya (hull No. 535) about 56 miles northeast of Tsushima in Nagasaki Prefecture as it followed a southwestern route.
The Russian Pacific Fleet vessel reportedly continued southwest as it passed through the strategically important Tsushima Strait. Later, on Wednesday or Thursday, it entered the East China Sea.
