Tuesday was the sixth coordinated air patrol between China and Russia since 2019 over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea, which prompted neighbouring South Korea to activate its fighter fighters.
The patrol was a part of the two forces’ yearly cooperation plan, according to China’s defence ministry. The military of South Korea claims that after four Russian and four Chinese military aircraft entered its air defence zone in the country’s south and east, it scrambled fighter fighters
South Korea also sent out fighter jets in response to the entry of Chinese H-6K bombers, Russian TU-95 bombers, and Chinese SU-35 fighter jets into its Air Defence Identification Zone (KADIZ) during China’s final combined aerial patrol with Russia in November.
When two Russian drones and two Chinese bombers flew into the Sea of Japan, Japan also scrambled its jets.
Countries that require additional identification procedures for foreign aircraft are said to have air defence zones. There are no international regulations controlling air defence zones, unlike the air above a nation’s territory and territorial waters
The two countries’ long-growing bilateral ties, which were based in part on a shared perception of threat from the United States and other military alliances, resulted in the coordinated aircraft patrols, which started before Russia dispatched troops to Ukraine and Beijing and Moscow declared their “no-limits” partnership. While Tokyo was hosting a Quad summit with the leaders of the United States, India, and Australia in May 2022, Chinese and Russian jets came dangerously close to entering Japanese airspace, worrying Japan despite China’s claims that the flights weren’t intended for other countries
Million of miles
A rise in military exercises and manoeuvres by the United States and its allies in the region has coincided with China’s growing military assertiveness there. The first trilateral naval drill between the US, Japanese, and Philippine coast guards has been taking place in the South China Sea since last week. The White House stated on Monday that previous clashes between US and Chinese forces in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait show Beijing’s military has become more assertive, increasing the possibility of an error where “somebody gets hurt.”
The US and Canadian warships were participating in a combined drill in the delicate Taiwan Strait over the weekend when a Chinese cruiser came within 150 yards (137 metres) of a US destroyer, raising concerns about the safety of the action.
A little while earlier, a video showed a Chinese fighter jet passing in front of the nose of a US aircraft, the cockpit of the RC-135 trembling from the flight’s turbulence.
According to Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, “US military ships and aircraft have travelled thousands of miles to provoke China at its doorstep” on Tuesday.
