Written By Lisa Murimi
Russia and China conducted a joint patrol over the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea near Alaska’s coast on Wednesday.
The patrol featured Russian TU-95MS strategic missile carriers and Chinese Xian H-6 strategic bombers, marking the first such operation in the north Pacific area.
While Moscow and Beijing insisted that the patrol was “not aimed at any third party,” the US-Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) intercepted the bombers. NORAD confirmed the aircraft remained in international airspace and did not pose a threat.
However, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski described the event as an “unprecedented provocation by our adversaries,” noting it was the first instance of the two nations’ bombers operating together.
China asserted that the patrol was unrelated to the current international and regional situation.
Despite this, the joint patrol comes amid closer ties between Russia and China, especially since Western sanctions were imposed on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Earlier this month, Moscow and Beijing completed their fourth joint naval patrol in the northern and western Pacific Ocean.
NATO countries recently accused China of being a “decisive enabler” of Russia’s war in Ukraine and urged it to cease all support.
The US Department of Defence expressed concerns over the growing alignment between Russia and China in a recent Arctic security report, predicting increased military cooperation.
However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed these concerns, claiming that Russian-Chinese cooperation in the Arctic would promote “stability and predictability” in the region.
