This follows joint drills by Chinese and Russian strategic bombers and fighters on Tuesday that prompted Japan and South Korea to scramble planes to monitor them.

Two Russian strategic bombers Tu-95 that flew down from the airspace east of the Korean Peninsula joined a pair of Chinese H-6 bombers over the East China Sea for a joint flight down to the Pacific off the southern coast of Japan's Shikoku island.

U.S. President Donald Trump can maintain both a "good working relationship" with China and a "very strong alliance" with Japan even as tensions have risen between those two countries, the White House said on Thursday.

While diplomatic tensions between the two countries are not new, both have little to gain from the current dispute subsiding.

No end in sight to spat between Japan and China over Taiwan, as neither Tokyo nor Beijing shows signs of backing down.

Japan is threatening China militarily which is "completely unacceptable", Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his German counterpart, after Japan said that Chinese fighter jets had aimed their radar at Japanese military aircraft.

The 15-year effort by Japan is a model for countries now scrambling to reduce their dependence on Beijing’s critical metals.

White House navigates backing long-time ally Japan while preserving trade truce with China amid fraying ties between the Asian neighbours.

When China’s ties with Japan last spiraled over a decade ago, Beijing fueled nationwide boycotts of Japanese brands and even street protests. This time around, President Xi Jinping is taking a more measured approach — for now,