RUSSIA-CHINA JOINT PATROL RAISES GLOBAL SECURITY CONCERNS AMID GROWING STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT
In the farthest-reaching display of military cooperation between Russia and China, the two nations conducted a joint patrol of the north Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea near Alaska.
According to officials in Moscow and Beijing, the event with the strategic bombers of both countries was not directed against any third party. The approach of the bombers was intercepted by the US-Canadian defense command under NORAD. It had no problem acknowledging that they stayed in worldwide airspace and posed no danger.
The joint patrol by the opponents was called a first-ever provocation by Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, saying it was the first time the cooperation in such activity was caught in the act. Beijing reacted that the patrol had to do nothing with present pressures.
It went on to show how military cooperation between these two countries has run years ahead since 2022, when Russia was sanctioned by the West following its invasion of Ukraine. Any increase in Russian-Chinese cooperation is undoubtedly unsettling for the US and European nations alike, especially in delicate areas like the Arctic.
Only two weeks before the joint patrol, Moscow and Beijing had wrapped up their fourth combined naval patrol in the Pacific as a sign of enhanced military cooperation.
At a NATO summit in Washington, the member countries blasted China for not reining in Russia’s actions in Ukraine and its ‘proxy war’ on Western interests and called for an end to its support for Russia.
In a recent report on Arctic security, the US Department of Defense explained that its apprehension arose from their growing alignment between Russia and China.
It views increased military cooperation between the two countries likely to be seen more in the future.
