China-Russia Joint Patrol: Nuclear Bombers Near Alaska

MOSCOW – The Russian and Chinese militaries have expanded their joint air patrols since 2019, with bombers—including those capable of carrying nuclear weapons—flying beyond East Asia into the wider Pacific and near Alaska, according to Newsweek maps.

Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC, told Newsweek that the military maneuvers were part of annual cooperation to demonstrate the two sides’ determination and ability to jointly address regional security challenges.

Regarding the 10th joint air patrol carried out on December 9 near Japan, the Russian Defense Ministry previously said that it was part of Russia-China military cooperation plans for this year and denied that it was directed against a third country.

Russia and China—the world’s largest and third-largest nuclear powers in terms of number of warheads—have entered into a so-called “borderless partnership,” with Moscow and Beijing cooperating closely militarily, including joint patrols and war games, as part of efforts to counter the United States and its European and Asian allies.

A Chinese military analyst who spoke to Newsweek on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the topic said that the joint Russian-Chinese bomber patrol was more of a political demonstration than a scenario-specific exercise, as it lacked “tactical clarity” and was largely symbolic.

Russia’s participation aims to demonstrate its military presence in the region while engaging in the war in Ukraine, the analyst said. Meanwhile, the patrols are more significant for China, as they “are almost the strategic core of its defense policy.”

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The first joint Russian-Chinese air patrol was carried out on July 23, 2019, and involved two Russian Tu-95MS bombers and two Chinese H-6K bombers flying over the Sea of ​​Japan—also known as the East Sea, which borders the Russian Far East—and the East China Sea.

Formations of bombers flew over two major waterways near Japan: the Tsushima Strait, which separates the Japanese archipelago from the Korean Peninsula, and the Miyako Strait, which lies between Japan’s outlying southwestern islands of Okinawa and Miyako.

Newsweek maps show that Russian and Chinese bombers are operating within South Korea’s and Japan’s air defense identification zones, but outside their sovereign airspace, which extends up to 13.8 miles from the coastline. These zones are designed for early warning.