Russia and China have carried out joint air patrols in the Asia-Pacific, the Russian military announced on Wednesday, amid conflict in Ukraine and rivalry between Beijing and Washington.
For its part, the South Korean army announced that it had taken off fighter jets after six Russian and two Chinese warplanes entered its air defense zone without warning. The aircraft eventually all left the area and did not violate South Korea’s airspace, she said.
According to a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defense, a squadron of Russian and Chinese strategic bombers “carried out an air patrol over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea”.
The joint flight lasted around eight hours and on some legs of their route, the Russian and Chinese bombers were “escorted by fighter jets from foreign states”, the Russian ministry explained.
“No violation of foreign airspace has been committed”, underlined the Russian ministry, assuring that these patrols were carried out within the framework of a Russian-Chinese military cooperation plan for 2022 and “are not directed against third countries.
This announcement comes against the background of an increasingly accentuated shift from Russia to Asia, in the context of Moscow’s growing isolation on the international scene and unprecedented Western sanctions targeting it due to the conflict in Ukraine. .
The patrols also come as rivalries between China and the United States escalate, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region where Washington and Beijing are in growing competition. Everyone wants to assert their influence, particularly on the issue of North Korea, of which China is the main ally while Washington is South Korea’s main ally.
Korean and Japanese reactions
According to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), Chinese H-6 bombers have repeatedly moved in and out of the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ), near the southern and northern coasts. east of South Korea early Wednesday.
Hours later, they returned to the area from the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, accompanied by Russian military aircraft, including two SU-35 fighters and four TU-95 bombers, the state added. -South Korean major.
“Our military deployed Air Force fighter jets even before the Chinese and Russian jets entered the KADIZ in order to take tactical measures in case of the unexpected,” the JCS said in a statement. .
In Japan, the general staff confirmed that two Chinese H-6 bombers “entered the Sea of Japan and then flew north” on Wednesday morning. “Around the same time, what appears to be two Russian planes flew south over the Sea of Japan and then turned back,” he added, saying he had fighter jets take off. in response.
The incident comes as Washington pushes China to use its influence to help rein in North Korea, which has launched a record slew of missiles this year.
Chinese President Xi Jinping recently offered North Korean leader Kim Jong-un cooperation to “accelerate peace” in the world.
Washington has accused China and Russia of shielding Pyongyang from any further sanctions.
In May, the two countries vetoed a US move to tighten sanctions on North Korea in response to its previous missile strikes.