China-Russia joint patrols over Asia-Pacific: Routine drill or strategic signal?

 The Russian defense ministry clarified that the recently-held joint patrols of the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force in the Asia-Pacific region were just a routine exercise.

According to media reports, Chinese H-6K and Russian Tu-95МS strategic bombers, accompanied by fighter jets, conducted an eight-hour patrol over the Sea of Japan, East China Sea, and the western Pacific Ocean.

This is the first time China employed the H-6N strategic bomber in the patrol.

The Russian ministry claimed that the flights of both the countries did not violate the airspace of any foreign country, and added that the exercise was not directed at any specific nations.

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During the maneuvers, Russian aircraft landed and took off from an airfield in China. The crew of the Tu-95MS strategic missile carriers carried out aerial refueling as part of the exercise.

China too clarified that this was a routine exercise.

"The joint Chinese-Russian strategic air patrol is a routine process in the implementation of the annual cooperation plan. It is not directed against third countries and has nothing to do with the current international and regional situation," a Chinese defense official has been quoted as saying, according to news agency TASS.

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According to Chinese military expert Zhang Junshe, the Sea of Japan, East China Sea, and the West Pacific airspace are considered the 'doorsteps' of China and Russia, and hence it is totally reasonable for both countries to conduct such a joint patrols, reported Global Times.

There have been suspicions that the move is aimed at countering the plans of the US to deploy intermediate-range missiles in Japan.