The President of the United States, Joe Biden has made a statement about the Russia-Ukraine war, describing the ongoing conflict as the world “navigating a dark hour in the history that we shared” he called the war a global issue and said it was important that international order was defended. The Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida also made statements backing Mr. Biden’s words and said that it would be a tragedy if a similar invasion were to happen to Asia.
These statements were made during a meeting with the leaders of Japan, Australia, and India in Tokyo as part of the US President’s first visit to Asia. These four countries, collectively known as the Quad in addition to the Russian invasion discussed security and economic concerns including China’s growing influence in the region. Already Mr. Biden had issued stern warnings to China over the Taiwan issue, telling them they were “flirting with danger” and vowing to protect Taiwan should China be contemplating a similar invasion. The meeting was interrupted when reports arrived saying that Russian and Chinese warplanes had entered Japanese airspace as part of a military patrol. The Japanese military prepared their jets in response and Mr. Kishidi called the incident in a news conference held later that day “provocative.”
However, Russian officials have denied any ill intent and simply said that the flights over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea were part of a routine, annual military exercise.
