TOKYO, Feb 15 - RIA Novosti. Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi expressed concern about Russia's ongoing military exercises in the Seas of Japan and Okhotsk and stressed that Tokyo regards this as "a demonstration of Russia's military capabilities both in the west and in the east against the backdrop of the difficult situation in Ukraine."
"Against the background of recent movements of the Russian military on the border with Ukraine, we believe that (Russia - ed.) is increasing activity to demonstrate military capabilities both in the west and in the east," the minister said.
Kishi also added that since February 1, the Japanese government has recorded the activity of 24 vessels of the Pacific Fleet of the Russian Federation in the Seas of Japan and Okhotsk and continues to "monitor the actions with serious concern."
In January-February, a series of naval exercises is held in all areas of responsibility of the Russian fleets under the overall leadership of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Nikolai Evmenov. The main focus of the exercises is to work out actions to protect Russian national interests in the World Ocean, as well as to counter military threats from sea and ocean directions.
The exercises cover the waters of the seas surrounding Russia, as well as operationally important areas of the World Ocean. Separate exercises will be held in the waters of the Mediterranean, Northern, Okhotsk Seas, in the northeastern part of the Atlantic Ocean and in the Pacific Ocean. In total, more than 140 warships and support vessels, more than 60 aircraft, 1,000 units of military equipment, and about 10,000 military personnel were involved in the maneuvers.
In particular, on the eve it was reported that the warships of the Pacific Fleet in the Sea of Okhotsk, as part of the exercises, destroyed surface targets imitating a simulated enemy with artillery fire. The maneuvers involved the corvettes "Perfect", "Loud" and "Hero of the Russian Federation Aldar Tsydenzhapov", which made up one tactical group, as well as the frigate "Marshal Shaposhnikov", the large anti-submarine ship "Admiral Panteleev" and the corvette "Gremyashchy", which entered the second. In subsequent exercises, the crews of the ships will have to perform artillery firing on air targets, as well as destroy mock-ups of floating mines in an area with a conditional mine danger.
