The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Defense of the People’s Republic of China officially announced that on December 22, 2020, the Russian Air Force and the People’s Liberation Army Air Force held their second joint air cruise in the Asia-Pacific region.
A joint formation of two Tu-95MS strategic bombers and four H-6 strategic bombers of the Russian Air Force conducted air cruises over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea.
In the course of carrying out their tasks, Chinese and Russian aircraft have acted strictly in accordance with the provisions of international law and have not violated the airspace of other countries.
The purpose of launching the joint cruise is to deepen and develop the comprehensive partnership between Russia and China, further improve the level of cooperation between the two armies, improve the ability of the two armies to take joint operations, and strengthen global strategic stability.
This operation is part of the military cooperation plan between Russia and China in 2020, and is not targeted at third countries.
According to Russian News Agency, Russian Defense Minister Shoigu reported to Russian President Putin on the 22nd that the long-range aircraft of the Russian Air Force and the Chinese Air Force have successfully completed a joint cruise in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said, “Russian Defense Minister Shoigu reported to Vladimir Putin, the Supreme Commander of the Russian Federation’s Armed Forces, that the Russian Air Force and Chinese Air Force aircraft successfully completed their tasks during a joint cruise in the Asia-Pacific region.
The flight time is more than 10 hours. At some stages of the flight route, strategic bombers were followed by Japanese Air Self-Defense Force F-15 fighters.
The Russian Ministry of Defense pointed out that the Russian Air Force Su-35 fighter jets provided escorts to strategic bombers.
