Chinese and Russian planes fly near the meeting of the QUAD group

Russia’s TU-95 and China’s H-6 bombers fly over the East China Sea in this photo provided by the Japanese Ministry of Defense on May 24 – Photo: REUTERS

The Chinese and Russian air forces held a joint air patrol on May 24 in the Sea of ​​Japan, East China Sea and Western Pacific regions, the Chinese Defense Ministry said in a statement. According to Beijing, this is an annual military exercise between the two countries.

At the same time, spokesman Wang Wenbin of the Chinese Foreign Ministry affirmed that Russia-China cooperation does not target third parties or be influenced by outside. The Chinese spokesman also said that Beijing will work with Moscow to promote a multipolar world, resist hegemony and confrontation between blocs in international relations.

China spoke after Japan expressed “concern” about Russian and Chinese warplanes flying near Japan while the QUAD group, consisting of the US, Japan, Australia and India, was meeting in Tokyo.

“Two Chinese bombers appeared with two Russian bombers in the Sea of ​​Japan and flew to the East China Sea together,” Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi told AFP news agency. 5.

Kishi said that after that, two more Chinese bombers replaced the two above-mentioned Chinese bombers and together with two Russian bombers flew from the East China Sea to the Pacific Ocean. In addition, a Russian intelligence-gathering aircraft flew from the northern island of Hokkaido to the Noto peninsula in central Japan.

Russian and Chinese planes did not violate Japan’s airspace. However, Mr. Kishi called the moves particularly “provocative” given the QUAD group’s summit in Tokyo.

Earlier, after the meeting of the QUAD group on May 24, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio said that the four countries oppose any attempt to “change the status quo by force” in the Indo-Pacific. Japan, the US, India and Australia have plans to invest at least $50 billion in infrastructure projects in the region.