In recent years, Russia has joined forces with China many times to send military jets and warships close to Japan, which alarms the Japanese government. Now, in the latest, a Russian fleet was detected off the coast of Taiwan''s eastern city of Hualien. Over the weekend, the Joint Staff of Japan''s Self-Defense Forces made public the movements of the fleet, which included a destroyer, a frigate and a supply ship. They were moving northward in Hualien''s distant waters. A retired Taiwanese senior air force officer reckons this means rivalry between two groups, with China and Russia on one side and the U.S. and Japan on the other, is becoming increasingly obvious. Let''s hear what he had to say.

Chang Yen-ting
Former Air Force officer
Not only to Japan, but also to the U.S., Russia and China appear to have joined forces. In the future, I think the frequency of their interactions will be high, the probability of these kinds of appearances will be high, and they’ll often be in the Sea of Japan or around the periphery of the first island chain. The rivalry between these two groups will move from the undercurrent to the surface. China and Russia have joined forces, while the U.S. is with Japan or perhaps some neighboring countries like Australia and occasionally Canada.

In response, Taiwan''s Ministry of National Defense says joint intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance are used to fully grasp the movements of foreign aircraft and vessels in and around the waters of Taiwan, and that it will respond accordingly. The ministry says there is no need for the public to be alarmed.