China claimed it and Russia did not “target any third party” while their nuclear-capable bombers patrolled near the allies of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean.
According to the defense ministry in Japan, the joint Russia–China air patrols were carried out on Friday over the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea in South Korea, as well as over the East China Sea and the waters east of the so-called first island chain on Saturday.
The Chinese defense ministry confirmed the flights, saying they were part of the annual cooperation plan with the Russian military. The mission did not “target any third party and has nothing to do with the current international and regional situations,” Beijing added.
Japanese Defense Ministry
The Russian defense ministry claimed that aircraft involved in the joint patrol missions, including bombers and fighter jets, did not violate the airspace of foreign countries as they “acted strictly in line with provisions of internal law when performing the flight mission.”
This two-phase mission was the ninth joint strategic aerial patrol conducted by China and Russia since 2019, the Chinese defense ministry said. In the previous instance in late July, the Russian and Chinese bombers transited over the Bering Sea off the U.S. coast of Alaska.
While Tokyo said neither Russia nor China violated its airspace, it denounced them for conducting a show of force against Japan that was a major concern for safety and security. Newsweek emailed the defense ministries in Moscow and Beijing for comment.
The Sea of Japan, or the East Sea, separates the Japanese archipelago to the east and the Korean Peninsula to the west, lying between America’s treaty allies of Japan and South Korea. On Friday, South Korean scrambled its fighter jets to intercept the joint patrol.
Japanese fighter jets were deployed for two consecutive days to prevent airspace violations. “Strategic aircraft of Russia and China were accompanied in their air patrol mission by foreign fighters on individual route segments,” said Moscow, referring to the bombers.
Meanwhile, the first island chain, which extends southward from Japan to the Philippines via Taiwan, is one of three layers of a U.S. defense concept that would constrain the Chinese military‘s naval and air activity in wartime by using allied or friendly territories.
Newsweek reached out to the U.S. Department of Defense for comment by email.
The Russian and Chinese aircraft transited over two major waterways around Japan during the patrols, including the Tsushima Strait between the country and South Korea, and the Miyako Strait in Japan’s Southwest Islands, forming part of the first island chain.
Japanese Defense Ministry
According to reports prepared by the Japanese military, Russia and China deployed two of their bombers, the Tu-95 and the H-6, respectively, for the two-day joint strategic air patrol, as well as supporting fighter jets, spy planes and an aerial refueling aircraft.
The Russian defense ministry confirmed that Tu-95MS bombers were assigned for the mission, which saw them landing and taking off from an airfield in China. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists says the Tu-95MS can carry up to 14 nuclear-armed cruise missiles.
The Chinese media claimed that it was the first time the country’s air force had deployed the H-6N bombers for patrols with Russian aircraft. According to the Pentagon, the H-6N is China’s first nuclear bomber capable of receiving fuel in flight.
Japanese Defense Ministry
During the second day of the joint patrol, a Chinese Y-20 aerial refueling aircraft was seen providing fuel to a J-16 fighter jet, according to a photo taken by the Japanese air force. The Chinese fighter jets were spotted arming with missiles as they escorted the bombers.
