China and Russia have carried out a new round of joint strategic air patrols over the East China Sea and the western regions of the Pacific Ocean, marking the tenth such operation under their annual military cooperation framework.

China’s Ministry of National Defense said the patrol was conducted in accordance with pre-planned bilateral military activities. The ministry noted that the mission was designed to enhance interoperability between the two air forces and further strengthen strategic trust between Beijing and Moscow.

Video footage released by Chinese authorities showed advanced military aircraft participating in the operation, including Chinese J-11, J-16 and Su-30 fighter jets, H-6K strategic bombers, and KJ-500A airborne early-warning and control aircraft flying in coordinated formations alongside Russian military aircraft.

The patrol prompted a response from South Korea. The country’s Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed that two Chinese and seven Russian military aircraft entered the eastern and southern sectors of the Korean Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ). While the aircraft did not violate South Korean sovereign airspace, Seoul dispatched fighter jets as a precautionary measure before the aircraft exited the zone.

South Korean officials reiterated that KADIZ, though not recognized as sovereign airspace under international law, is a unilaterally established air defense buffer zone that requires foreign military aircraft to identify themselves for safety and monitoring purposes.

The operation comes shortly after China and Russia held a joint missile defense exercise on Russian territory earlier this month, reflecting the continued expansion of military and strategic coordination between the two powers amid shifting regional and global security dynamics. (ILKHA)