Chinese and Russian bombers carried out a joint patrol over the Sea of Japan and East China Sea that lasted 13 hours, yesterday. According to Sputnik International, the Russian Defense Ministry stressed that the patrolling was not conducted against any specific state and was carried out in full accordance with international laws. The bombers were escorted along parts of their route by Japanese and Korean jet fighters. According to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, two Chinese H-6 bombers flew through the the South Korean air defense identification zone for about an hour-and-a-half.
The Japanese government didn’t fail to notice that the combined Russian-Chinese patrol took place at the same time that the Quad summit of the U.S., Japan, India and Australia was proceeding. “Two Chinese bombers joined two Russian bombers in the Sea of Japan and made a joint flight to the East China Sea,” Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi told reporters, reported AFP. “After that, a total of four aircraft, two presumed (new) Chinese bombers—which replaced the two Chinese bombers—and two Russian bombers, conducted a joint flight from the East China Sea to the Pacific Ocean.”
