By Michael Martina
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A joint strategic bombing exercise by Russia and China in East Asia on Tuesday shows the depth of the two countries’ alignment, a senior U.S. administration official said.
The Russian Defense Ministry earlier confirmed the joint patrol, which it said lasted 13 hours over the seas of Japan and East China and involved Russian Tu-95 and Chinese Xian H-strategic bombers. 6.
Planes from the Japanese and South Korean air forces followed the Russian and Chinese planes for part of the exercise, Russia said.
The move marks the first joint military exercise by China and Russia since Moscow invaded Ukraine on February 24, according to the US official, and it comes at the end of US President Joe Biden’s trip to the region.
“We believe this shows that China continues to be willing to align closely with Russia, including through military cooperation,” the official said, adding that such actions need to be planned long in advance. ‘advance.
“China is not walking away from Russia. Instead, the exercise shows that China is ready to help Russia defend its East while Russia fights in its West,” the person said.
The senior administration official added that the bombing exercise signaled that Russia would stand by China in its territorial disputes with its neighbors in the East and South China Seas.
It was unclear whether the drills would coincide with Biden’s first trip as president to Asia, where he visited allies South Korea and Japan, and joined leaders of Japan on Tuesday, of Democratic India and Australia – collectively known as the Quad – for their second in-person summit.
Biden stressed on the trip, intended in part to counter China’s growing influence in the region, that the United States would stand with its allies and partners to push for an Indo-Pacific region. free and open.
Beijing and Moscow declared a “limitless” partnership just weeks before Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, and China has refused to condemn the move.
The two countries have conducted such exercises in the past, including what Russia said was their first long-range joint air patrol in the region in 2019. In August, they held large-scale military exercises in China involving more than 10,000 troops.
US officials say they still have no indication that Beijing has provided material support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, a move they say could trigger sanctions against China similar to some of the sweeping measures. that Washington and its allies have taken against Moscow.
(Reporting by Michael Martina. Editing by Gerry Doyle and Chizu Nomiyama)
