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Japan lodged a formal protest after Chinese and Russian warships staged their first publicly disclosed live-fire drills inside waters Tokyo claims as its exclusive economic zone, in what it called a sign of deepening military ties between Beijing and Moscow.

This comes as the US-Iran war escalated into a 10th night of strikes with Iran declaring a "full-scale war," and as US President Donald Trump said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not be arrested if he visits the United States.

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Major Story

🇯🇵🇨🇳🇷🇺 Japan protests China-Russia live-fire drills in its waters

Japan lodged a diplomatic protest after Chinese and Russian naval vessels held joint live-fire exercises inside waters Tokyo claims as its exclusive economic zone, the first time it has publicly disclosed such a drill in the area.

Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the exercise took place on Sunday about 180 kilometres southwest of the remote atoll of Okinotorishima, with a Chinese guided-missile destroyer conducting machine-gun live fire alongside Russian vessels.

Tokyo said the drill posed a risk to maritime and aviation safety and reflected deepening military cooperation between Beijing and Moscow.

China dismissed Japan's concern as "groundless," arguing that Okinotorishima is a rock rather than an island and cannot generate an exclusive economic zone, and that the exercise was consistent with international law.

The incident adds to heightened tensions between Tokyo and Beijing over Taiwan and China's expanding military activity around Japan's southwestern islands.

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