The United States sent a clear message this week when two nuclear-capable B-52 bombers flew over the Sea of Japan alongside Japanese fighter jets. Tokyo's defense ministry announced the joint exercise Thursday, describing it as a show of resolve against any attempts to change the regional status quo by force.

What Prompted the Response

The timing wasn't coincidental. This bilateral drill came right after China and Russia conducted their own joint strategic bomber flight over the East China Sea and western Pacific on Tuesday. Then things got more contentious when separate Chinese aircraft carrier operations led Japan to scramble its jets.

According to Tokyo, Japanese aircraft were targeted by radar beams during the encounter. China's state media fired back with audio recordings claiming Japan's Self-Defense Forces had actually used radar against Chinese fighters first. Japanese officials denied this, insisting that China directed radar at Japanese F-15s twice during the December 6 incident while Japan was simply responding appropriately to an airspace violation.

South Korea got pulled into the regional tensions too, scrambling its own fighters when Chinese and Russian aircraft entered its air defense zone on Tuesday.

The Taiwan Factor

Much of this tension traces back to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks last month about how Japan might respond if China attacked Taiwan. Beijing wasn't happy about that, to put it mildly.

The stakes are genuinely high here. Taiwan, the democratically governed island that China claims as its own territory, sits less than 110 kilometers from Japan's Yonaguni island. China has repeatedly warned the United States that Taiwan represents the most important and sensitive issue in their bilateral relationship.

Japanese Defense Minister Koizumi has been keeping international partners in the loop, briefing NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte about the radar incident. When nuclear-capable bombers start flying joint patrols, everyone's paying attention.