The Chinese and Russian air forces organized a routine joint aerial strategic patrol over the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea, and the West Pacific on November 30. The Russian Ministry of Defense specifically mentioned in a press release issued on the same day that Russian and Chinese military aircraft landed at each other's airport for the first time in history during the joint air patrol. Chinese military experts believe that it is of great significance for the improvement of China-Russia coordination on military command and support mechanisms.
The joint patrol was carried out in accordance with the annual military cooperation plan between the two militaries, being the second joint aerial strategic patrol held by the two air forces in 2022. The Russian side stated that Tu-95MC strategic bombers of the Russian Aerospace Forces and H-6K strategic bombers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force conducted the air patrol in formation over the waters of the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea. Aircraft of the two countries strictly abided by international law when carrying out the patrol. They did not violate the airspace of any other countries and did not target any other country.
Yonhap News Agency quoted the ROK's Joint Chiefs of Staff as saying that Chinese and Russian military aircraft were found in the Air Defense Identification Zone(ADIZ) in the south and east parts of the ROK on November 30. The Ministry of Defense of Japan also released similar news on the same day. Regarding the ADIZ mentioned, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian once said that the ADIZ is not airspace, and all countries enjoy the freedom of overflight in accordance with international law.
At present, the joint strategic patrols of the Chinese and Russian air forces have been normalized. In 2019, China and Russia organized and implemented the first joint aerial strategic patrol in Northeast Asia. The second, third, and fourth joint air strategic patrols were carried out in December 2020, November 2021, and May 2022 respectively.
Military expert Song Zhongping said that the current China-Russia joint aerial strategic patrol exercises, which are conducted regularly or irregularly on demand, have been normalized, aiming to strengthen all-round cooperation between the Chinese and Russian militaries and effectively maintain peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. Regarding the mutual landing during the joint patrol, Song said that this meant that the relationship and cooperation between the two militaries have further deepened. "The landing of the aircraft at each other's military airports reflected their strengthened coordination on military command and support mechanisms, and showed that China and Russia have formed a broad consensus and foundation for technical cooperation in military coordination," said Song.
Editor's note: Originally published on huanqiu.com, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
