MOSCOW, July 31. /TASS/. Moscow is keeping a close eye on how the US and Japan are strengthening their military alliance, seemingly making preparations for a large-scale armed conflict in the region, citing alleged threats from Moscow, Beijing and Pyongyang, Russian Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesman Andrey Nastasyin said at a briefing.
"Undoubtedly, we are closely following the steps that Washington and Tokyo have recently been taking to strengthen their military and political alliance, including, of course, their July 28 joint statement about upgrading the US command in Japan," he noted. "It seems that both parties have begun large-scale preparations for a major armed conflict in the Asia-Pacific region, using allegations about threats from North Korea, China and Russia as a guise," the diplomat added.
In this regard, he pointed to the creation of a joint headquarters tasked with guiding the actions of the two allies in a combat situation, as well as to plans to sharply increase training activities and expand US military bases on Japan’s Okinawa Island, equipping them with new fire weapons.
"We have repeatedly warned that such activities can only raise tensions and accelerate an arms race in the Asia-Pacific region," Nastasyin stressed. "We keep reminding Tokyo that its incendiary actions near Russia’s borders, which also involve the US and other countries, including non-regional NATO members, are properly taken into account with regard to our defense planning and will inevitably lead to appropriate countermeasures. We maintain coordination on the issue with our Chinese and North Korean partners," he added.