A Russian TU-95 bomber flies over the East China Sea in this handout picture taken by Japan's Air Self-Defence Force and released by the Joint Staff Office of the Defense Ministry of Japan May 24, 2022. Joint Staff Office of the Defense Ministry of Japan/Reuters Reuters —

Japan has scrambled jets to monitor Russian and Chinese air forces conducting joint patrols around the country, the Japanese Defense Ministry said late Tuesday, amid rising tensions between Tokyo and Beijing.

Two Russian Tu-95 nuclear-capable strategic bombers flew from the Sea of Japan toward the East China Sea to rendezvous with two Chinese H-6 bombers, and performed a “long-distance joint flight” in the Pacific, the ministry said.

Four Chinese J-16 fighter jets joined the bombers as they made a round-trip

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