International Military - It is reported that the Chinese and Russian Air Forces are conducting joint military exercises in the East China Sea. Where there is the state of Taiwan, the Senkaku Islands, which are the subject of a territorial dispute between China and Japan are located.
On that occasion, the Chinese Air Force deployed two J-16 fighter jets and one H-6K bomber. Meanwhile Russia deployed the Tu-95MS long-range bomber. Chinese news media, donga.com, reported that the agenda for this exercise was held on Thursday, May 26, 2022.
It is reported that China's J-16s are armed with missiles capable of short-range strikes. In fact, this joint exercise has been carried out by the two countries since 2019, with the aim of building mutual trust. "This is our fourth patrol session," said Wu Qian, spokesman for China's Ministry of Defense.
Launching Huanqiu.com, it was said that the deployment of fighter jets in the training session may have been deliberately done to increase the threat to the US, Japan and Taiwan.
The South Korean military detected that two Chinese H-6 bombers entered the South Korean air defense identification zone. That is, off the southwest coast of the Korean Peninsula at 07:56, Tuesday, May 24, 2022.
These two bombers were then joined by four Russian aircraft, including two fighter jets and two Tu-95 bombers. The six aircraft entered the South Korean zone between 09:58 and 10:15 am, but did not enter South Korea's territorial airspace, the New York Times said.
The joint military exercise continued into Tuesday afternoon, with the two nations patrolling together between South Korea's southern island of Jeju and Japan's southern island of Kyushu before they parted ways. The bomber flew over the Sea of Japan Tuesday morning and continued south towards the East China Sea and the Philippine Sea.
A Pentagon official commented in this regard, "Their exercises off the coast of that country do not interfere with other countries' airspace. But these joint exercises involving bombers are usually planned in advance."
China and Russia on Tuesday, May 24 held joint military exercises since Putin's military operation to Ukraine. The two countries sent bombers into the sea in northeast Asia in an apparent show of force during a meeting, US, South Korean and Japanese officials said.
The meeting included four countries, namely the US, Japan, India and Australia, these coalition countries are better known as the Quad alliance. Quad itself stands as a form of resistance to China's power in the Indo-Pacific region, quoted by News18.com.
This joint military exercise is a sign that the partnership between the two countries (China and Russia) has not weakened, even when the war has been going on for 3 months in Ukraine. The South Korean and Japanese air forces then dispatched their fighter jets before the Chinese and Russian bombers entered the zone. "Both South Korea and Japan are taking tactical steps to avoid an emergency," the New York Times quoted.
"We consider the military exercises carried out in the midst of this important meeting intended to show a demonstration of strength against the host Japan." "Moreover, the fact that this meeting is on the agenda of the Quad alliance can be considered more provocative," said Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi. "And we can't help but worry about this and can't just sit back," he added.