Russian and Chinese bombers carried out joint patrols over Russia’s Far East and the Bering Sea near Alaska, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday.
“Tu-95MS strategic missile carriers of the Russian Space Forces and Xian H-6 strategic bombers of the Chinese Air Force conducted air patrols over the Chukchi and Bering Seas and the North Pacific Ocean,” it said.
The statement came after the joint US-Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said US and Canadian warplanes had intercepted two Russian and two Chinese bombers in international airspace near Alaska on Wednesday.
He said the bombers were “remaining in international airspace” and were “not seen as a threat”.
Moscow also said the patrol followed international law and did not violate foreign airspace, adding that “at some stages of the route the aviation group was accompanied by combat aircraft of foreign countries.”
Moscow said the patrol was “part of military cooperation plans for 2024 and was not directed against any third country.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry also posted photos of the planes taking off and landing as well as footage taken from the air.
The Tu-95MS aircraft were developed in the Soviet era to carry long-range cruise missiles and are part of Russia’s nuclear triad. The Xian H-6 aircraft are also nuclear capable.
China and Russia have grown closer in recent years and regularly conduct joint military exercises.
Beijing has strengthened its diplomatic, economic and military ties with Moscow since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited China in May on his first foreign trip after being re-elected and met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping again at a regional summit in Kazakhstan this month.
Russia said on Sunday it deployed fighter jets to intercept two US strategic bombers that crossed its border over the Barents Sea in the Arctic.
The U.S. military routinely flies flights over international waters, and maintains these operations are conducted in neutral airspace, but Moscow has responded more aggressively in recent months.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
