China and Russia conducted a joint air exercise with strategic bombers near Japan's airspace on Tuesday, while the leaders of the Quad[/B] namely the US, India, Australia and Japan, were meeting in Tokyo on regional security, Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said.
The minister called the flights "very provocative" because of the four leaders' conference in Tokyo and added that the Japanese government has already expressed "great concern" about the flights, despite the fact that there was no violation of Japan's airspace.
"Two Chinese along with two Russian bombers made a joint flight in the East China Sea," Nobuo Kishi said, adding that then, "two other Chinese along with two Russian bombers made a joint flight over the Pacific Ocean. With this move, China, which has refused to condemn the invasion of Ukraine, has taken another step of "alignment" with Russia, while at the same time accusing the US of "deliberately leaking" the monkeypox virus.
Meanwhile, China is helping Russia counter Western sanctions on its oil by absorbing large quantities of Russian crude at a discount.
Quad leaders expressed concern about the situation in Ukraine during their meeting in Tokyo.
"The four leaders had a frank discussion on the implications of the Ukrainian situation in the Indo-Pacific region and we, including India, expressed our concern over the tragic war in Ukraine and reaffirmed that principles such as the rule of law, sovereignty and territorial integrity should be respected in every region," Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said today.
The joint patrol lasted 13 hours over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea. It involved Russian Tu-95 strategic bombers[/B] and Chinese Xian H-6 jets, the Russian side clarified.
According to the Russian ministry, at some stages of the route, the missile carriers were accompanied by F-2s of the South Korean Air Force and F-15s of the Japanese Air Force.
"During their missions, the aircraft of both countries acted strictly in accordance with the provisions of international law. There were no violations of foreign airspace," the ministry clarified, adding that the exercise was part of the implementation of the provisions of the 2022 Military Cooperation Plan and was not directed against third countries.
For its part, the Chinese Ministry of Defense announced that Chinese and Russian military aircraft conducted a joint air patrol today.
The patrol, conducted under the "annual military cooperation plan", took place over the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea and the Western Pacific, the Chinese Defense Ministry said on its official website.
Source: protothema.gr
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