TAIWAN – While Japan confirmed no breach of territorial waters, the incident follows increased military activity in the region, including Chinese naval operations. Japan’s military said it dispatched a surveillance aircraft and a navy ship on Tuesday after spotting a Russian submarine off the coast of a southwestern island near Taiwan. The Russian Kilo-class submarine was sighted 50 kilometres south of Yonaguni Island, Japan’s westernmost territory just east of Taiwan, according to the Japanese Joint Staff.

The submarine, accompanied by a Russian naval vessel, was moving northeast between Yonaguni and the nearby island of Iriomote. It was the first sighting of a Russian submarine in those waters, the Joint Staff said in a statement. Japan’s Self-Defence Forces (SDF) deployed a combat support vessel and a P-3 surveillance aircraft to conduct warning and reconnaissance operations. There was no breach of Japan’s territorial waters by the Russian warships, the military said. (Euronews)