RUSSIA - Feb. 14 - Big Air Force Exercise.

The air force stages a big military exercise on opposite sides of the globe, forcing Japanese and Norwegian fighters to scramble as Russian bombers approach over the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The exercise provokes a diplomatic row with Japan, which claims Russian fighter aircraft and bombers entered its airspace twice, in the first violation in six years. Norway also scrambled fighter jets after detecting Russian bombers off its Arctic coast. But Norway said they stayed outside its airspace, and Moscow had given advance notice of a probable exercise this week. In a protest to the Russian ambassador, the Japanese Foreign Ministry demanded that Russia "make clear the cause of this intrusion and take steps to prevent it ever happening again". Moscow denied any violation took place. (The incident provoked speculation in Japan that the exercise might be linked to a summit between the two countries' leaders set for March 25. Relations between Russia and Japan are dominated by a dispute over the Kuriles, or Northern Territories - four islands claimed by Japan, which Russia has occupied since the war. Japanese analysts suggest the Feb.14 incident could mark an attempt by the Russian military to complicate relations between the two countries in the run-up to the summit. The aim would be to reduce further any slight possibility that the summit might yield a breakthrough deal for Russia to hand back some or all of the islands. The scale of the Russian exercise, however, suggests an audience other than Japan alone. It may have been an attempt by the air force to advertise its skills at a time when Putin is considering big cuts and restructuring in the armed forces. Or it may have been directed at US plans for a national missile defence programme, as a warning of Russia's power to respond).