"China is moving to intensify its cooperation with Russia, especially in the military and industrial sphere," said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, a day when Chinese and Russian fighter jets conducted joint military exercises over the Sea of Japan, prompting Japanese and South Korean aircraft to also be deployed to monitor the maneuvers.
Zelensky's comments referred to an intelligence report from Kiev analyzing the increasing dependence of Vladimir Putin's regime on investments and technologies from the Asian giant, which has also expanded its military ties with Moscow since the large-scale invasion of Ukraine almost four years ago.
This Thursday, in a show of force to counter the military exercises of the Chinese and Russians, Tokyo revealed that its aircraft had conducted joint patrols with US bombers: the so-called tactical exercises over the Sea of Japan involved two US B52 bombers, three Japanese F-35s, and three F-15s from Japan.
"We confirm Japan and the US's strong determination not to allow any unilateral changes to the status quo by force, as well as the readiness of the Self-Defense Forces and the US military," the Japanese Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
This week, a new joint air patrol by China and Russia once again challenged the fragile security balance in East Asia. South Korea and Japan responded on Tuesday and Wednesday by deploying fighter jets after Chinese and Russian military aircraft entered their respective air defense identification zones, a space that is not sovereign territory but where countries demand that any military aircraft identify themselves for security reasons. This episode, far from isolated, represents an increasingly recurring dynamic of coordinated forces by the armies of Putin and Xi Jinping.
According to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, seven Russian and two Chinese aircraft, including bombers and fighters, were monitored by their surveillance systems on Tuesday during a one-hour flight, leading Seoul to deploy fighter jets as a preventive tactical measure. The South Korean Ministry of Defense lodged formal diplomatic protests with representatives from China and Russia.
Japan reacted in parallel. Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi reported that the Japanese Self-Defense Forces sent fighters after detecting a joint Russian-Chinese patrol. Tokyo stated that two Russian Tu-95 strategic bombers, capable of carrying nuclear weapons, flew from the Sea of Japan to join Chinese aircraft capable of carrying long-range missiles. Several Chinese J-16 fighters and a Russian A-50 early warning aircraft joined this formation, flying between the Japanese territories of Okinawa and Miyako.
"The joint Russian and Chinese operations are clearly intended as a show of force against our nation, which is a serious concern for our security," Koizumi said. From Moscow, Russian news agencies reported that this week's Russian-Chinese joint flight near Japan lasted eight hours.
The military maneuvers in recent days are heightening the perception of threat in Tokyo, where they were already on alert after an incident last weekend near Okinawa, when the Japanese accused Chinese fighters of targeting Japanese aircraft with their targeting radars. This occurred during China's first combat exercises near the Japanese islands from its Liaoning aircraft carrier.
This also added another contentious chapter to one of the biggest diplomatic crises between the Asian neighbors in recent years. The initial clash began when Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested last month that Japan could intervene militarily if China attacked Taiwan. Her statements provoked a strong reaction from Beijing, including economic sanctions and increased military pressure.
Regarding the military exercises with Russia, the Chinese Ministry of Defense has defended that the maneuvers are part of pre-planned joint aerial exercises with Moscow under annual military cooperation agreements. According to Beijing, this is the tenth joint strategic air patrol since these operations began in 2019.
Beijing and Moscow also maintain a close relationship with the North Korean regime - especially the Russians - another key player in the regional security equation and considered the most direct threat by both South Korea and Japan. The two Asian democracies also frequently conduct joint combat aircraft patrols with their common great ally, the United States.