MOSCOW. Dec 21 (Interfax) - The Russian Foreign Ministry has expressed a strong protest to Japan over a military exercise it conducted jointly with the United States and Australia near Russian borders.
"On December 18, Russia expressed a strong protest to the Japanese embassy over another military exercise involving the U.S. and Australian Armed Forces held on the island of Hokkaido in the close vicinity of the Russian Federation's borders," the ministry said in a statement on its website.
Moscow "sees such provocative activities involving extra-regional states as a potential threat to the Russian Federation's security," the ministry said.
"We have warned that the Fumio Kishida administration's irresponsible policy puts Tokyo on a path towards an escalation of tension in Northeast Asia and the Asia Pacific region as a whole. We will take proper measures to further strengthen our country's defense capability," the ministry said.