JAPAN PROTESTS INCURSION BY RUSSIAN BOMBER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 000366

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

MOSCOW PASS VLADIVOSTOK
HELSINKI PASS ST PETERSBURG

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/12/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV JA RU
SUBJECT: JAPAN PROTESTS INCURSION BY RUSSIAN BOMBER

REF: TOKYO 00328

Classified By: DCM Joseph R. Donovan. Reasons 1.4 (B) (D)


1. (C) Summary. Foreign Minister Masahiko Koumura delivered
a "severe protest" to Russian authorities over the February 9
incursion by a Russian Tu-95 strategic "Bear" bomber into
Japanese airspace, Foreign Ministry officials tell Embassy
Tokyo. Tokyo officials provided Moscow with coordinates
showing the Russian aircraft's track through Japanese
airspace and asked that Russian authorities "examine the
facts." Russian Embassy diplomats confirm receiving a
"strong protest" over the incident, adding that First Deputy
Premier Sergey Ivanov has promised to "check the information
once again." Japanese officials expressed little concern
about how the incident might affect possible Moscow visits by
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and Foreign Minister Koumura.
End Summary.

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Japan Protests
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2. (C) On February 12, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Russia
Division Principal Deputy Director Kotaro Otsuki told Embassy
Tokyo that Japan delivered a "severe protest" to Russian
authorities over the February 9 incursion by a Russian Tu-95
strategic "Bear" bomber into Japanese airspace. Otsuki,
confirming numerous front-page and international media
reports on the incident, noted that the Russian plane crossed
over the uninhabited Sofugan isle about 400 miles south of
Tokyo at 0730 for approximately three minutes.


3. (C) Otsuki said that Russia Division Director Akira Muto
delivered the protest to Russian Embassy Political Counselor
Andre Kostin on February 9. Muto provided Kostin with
coordinates showing the Russian aircraft's track through
Japanese airspace, and asked that Russian authorities
"examine the facts." The Russian Embassy promised to relay
Japan's protest to Moscow, but did not comment on the
incident, according to Otsuki. He noted that coordinates
demonstrating the bomber's transit over Japanese territory
appears on the Ministry of Defense's Web site.

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Koumura Meets Ivanov
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4. (C) Foreign Minister Masahiko Koumura also raised the
issue with Russian First Deputy Premier Sergey Ivanov during
a meeting that same day in Munich, Otsuki observed. Ivanov
reportedly countered that Moscow officials had looked into
the incident and determined that no incursion took place.
Koumura, claiming that Japanese Self-Defense Force pilots had
sighted the bombers, asked Ivanov to "check again," which the
Deputy Premier promised to do. Otsuki said that Tokyo will
wait for Moscow to re-examine the facts before deciding on
additional steps. Muto, who had already been scheduled to
visit Moscow on unrelated business, will follow-up with
Russian Foreign Ministry officials, Otsuki said.

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Fukuda, Koumura Visits
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5. (C) Otsuki expressed little concern about the effect the
incident might have on Foreign Minister Koumura's possible
March visit to Russia (reftel),noting that Tokyo and Moscow
had not yet confirmed the visit would occur. Similarly,
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda had not yet decided whether to
undertake a "Golden Week" (April 29 - May 6) trip to Europe,
with a possible stop in Moscow, Otsuki observed.

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TOKYO 00000366 002 OF 002


Russians Re-Checking
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6. (C) Russian Embassy First Secretary Yurii Yuriev confirmed
that his mission received a "strong protest" over the alleged
incursion, which it then passed on to Moscow. Yuriev, while
declining to confirm or deny the event, acknowledged that
Ivanov, "after initially denying that the aircraft had
entered into Japanese airspace," promised Koumura to "check
the information once again."
SCHIEFFER