Japanese Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi has said that a rare demonstration of Sino-Russian force projection close to Japan this past week was unprecedented and underscored a growing list of security challenges in the region. Kishi said that it was the first time that Japan had seen confirmed activity on such a large scale and over such an extensive period. “We believe this was a show of force toward Japan,” he said, according to Japan Today. Kishi’s comments come after Japan announced on Oct. 19 that it was monitoring a flotilla of Chinese and Russian naval vessels for the first time in the Tsugaru Strait that separates Hokkaido and Japan’s main island, Honshu. The flotilla then moved through the Osumi Strait, south of Kyushu, before continuing into the East China Sea. Both straits are classified as international waters, and vessels may travel through unimpeded at any time. Russia later confirmed that the …