The Chinese Ministry of Defense confirms the execution of a coordinated flight over the East China Sea and the Western Pacific, within the framework of annual military cooperation and in compliance with international law.

China and Russia have taken another step in strengthening their strategic alliance with the execution of a joint air patrol, the tenth of its kind. The operation was carried out over the waters of the East China Sea and the vast expanse of the western Pacific Ocean, as confirmed by the Chinese Ministry of Defense in an official statement.

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The air exercise falls within the framework of the annual bilateral cooperation plan, confirming the strength of the military ties between the two powers. The Chinese statement emphasized the routine nature of these maneuvers and their intention to maintain stability and mutual trust in a region of increasing geopolitical tension.

For its part, the Russian Ministry of Defense provided specific details on the composition of the deployed air force. The air group consisted of Russian Tu-95MS strategic bombers and their Chinese counterparts, the Xian H-6K strategic bombers, key aircraft in both countries’ long-range arsenals.

The coordinated flight lasted approximately eight hours and was protected and supported by state-of-the-art fighter jets, including the Russian Su-30SM and Su-35S, as well as the Chinese Shenyang J-16 fighter. The Russian military emphasized that the aircraft operated in strict compliance with international law, without violating the airspace of any foreign state.

This long-range patrol comes shortly after important consultations on missile defense and strategic stability held in late November in Moscow. Following that meeting, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov highlighted the considerable increase in the number of joint exercises with China, a clear sign of deepening military cooperation.

Belousov also emphasized that military cooperation between Moscow and Beijing is based on trust and a mutual understanding of their interests. He concluded that the “friendly and trusting relations” between the two countries’ leaders, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, are a determining and key factor in further consolidating Russian-Chinese strategic ties.

The ninth joint strategic air patrol was conducted in November 2024. These actions complement the joint surface patrols initiated in 2021, which have been conducted annually with ships such as Russia’s Admiral Tributs, China’s destroyer Shaoxing, and the logistics ship Qiandaohu in 2025.

These exercises constitute a series of strategic initiatives that underscore the deepening of defense relations between the two nations.

From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.