Aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces landed for the first time at a Chinese airfield as part of joint air patrols with the Chinese Air Force, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.
“For the first time in the course of joint air patrols, Russian aircraft landed at an airfield in China, and Chinese aircraft landed at an airfield in Russia,” the ministry said in a statement.
Earlier, strategic bombers of the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Chinese Air Force conducted joint patrols over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
“On November 30, 2022, the Aerospace Forces of Russia and the Air Force of the People’s Liberation Army [PLA] of China conducted another joint air patrol in the Asia-Pacific region. An air group consisting of Tu-95ms strategic missile carriers of the Russian Aerospace Forces and Hong-6k strategic bombers of the PLA Air Force carried out air patrols over the waters of Japan and East China Seas,” the ministry said in a statement.
The flight of the Russian bombers lasted about eight hours. The aircraft were escorted by Su-30SM and Su-35S fighters of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the ministry added.
South Korea’s military said it raced its warplanes as two Chinese and six Russian warplanes entered its air defense zone. The two Chinese H-6 bombers repeatedly entered and left the Korea Air Defence Identification Zone (KADIZ) off South Korea’s southern and northeast coasts starting at around 5:50 a.m. (2050 GMT Tuesday), Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.
They re-entered the zone hours later from the Sea of Japan together with the Russian warplanes, including TU-95 bombers and SU-35 fighter jets, and left after 18 minutes in the KADIZ, the JCS said.
“Our military dispatched air force fighter jets ahead of the Chinese and Russian aircraft’s entry of the KADIZ to implement tactical measures in preparation for a potential contingency,” the JCS said in a statement.
The warplanes did not breach South Korea’s airspace, it said.
Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the joint air patrols of Russia and China in the Asia-Pacific are not directed against third countries.
“While performing tasks, the aircraft of both countries acted strictly in accordance with the provisions of international law. There were no violations of the airspace of foreign states … The event was held as part of the implementation of the provisions of the military cooperation plan for 2022 and was not directed against third countries,” the ministry said in a statement.
- Via Sputnik News Agency
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