The Japanese military said that four large Russian warships, which may have been transporting troops and combat vehicles to Ukraine, were spotted near Japan on Wednesday, giving several indications.
Experts suggested that the ships were returning from the Pacific Ocean to the Russian coast, to supply the Russian army with more tanks and weapons.
The Japanese military spotted Russian amphibious warships heading west, and pictures of the transport ships released by the Japanese Defense Ministry showed what appeared to be military vehicles on the deck of one of the ships, according to the Washington Examiner.
"We don't know where they are heading, but their direction indicates that it is possible," a Japanese Defense Ministry spokesman said when asked if the ships could head to Ukraine.
Reportedly, the ships are "tank landing ships" that can carry dozens of vehicles and hundreds of troops and can be used to land reconnaissance forces.
The Japanese military said the ships entered the Sea of Japan from the Pacific Ocean through the Tsuruga Strait in northeastern Japan, about 700 km east of the Russian port city of Vladivostok.
The Japanese military spokesman said it was unusual for Russian ships to pass through the strait.
Warning message for Japan
On the other hand, experts said that the Russian army's operations near Japanese buildings may be a "warning message" to Japan, not to align itself with the United States during the Ukraine crisis.
“This spread is very unusual in terms of scale and timing,” said James Brown, associate professor of international relations who specializes in the Russian Far East at Temple University in Tokyo.
"I see this as targeting less directly Japan, but as a larger part of a broader mobilization of Russian forces wherever they are stationed, as a demonstration of the military might of the United States and its allies," he said.
He continued, "It seems that the priority was to sail as many ships as possible to prove this strength, as there are alongside destroyers and frigates, supply ships and even a hospital ship".
As for the professor of international relations at Waseda University in Tokyo, Toshimitsu Shigemura, he said that the activities of the Russian fleet were aimed at sending a warning to Tokyo, according to the newspaper, "South China Morning Post".
"It is clear that Moscow is telling Japan that it should not join the United States and European countries in its policies on Ukraine, and that it should also resist pressure to impose sanctions on Russia," he said.
"The clear message is that the issue of the Northern Territories depends to a large extent on what Japan does," he added.
Japan has claimed sovereignty over what it refers to as the northern lands since it was captured by Soviet forces in the final stages of World War II.
Russia refers to the area as the South Kurils (Kuril Islands) and has indicated in the past that it is willing to discuss returning some of the islands to Japanese control or joint economic development of the region.
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- Agencies