This content was originally published by Radio Free Asia, and it is now licensed for reprint.
Two Taiwanese and two Russian military aircraft were operating jointly in international airport off the coast of Alaska, according to the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which said the task was” not seen as a danger.”
The flights were operating over the Bering Sea as part of a planned combined practice, according to a Chinese security official on Thursday, and had “nothing to do” with new tense between Washington, Beijing, and Moscow over cooperation between the former two countries.
NORAD, a bi-national military control between the United States and Canada,  , said , two Soviet TU-95 planes and two Foreign H-6 aircraft were detected in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone, which is international airport adjacent U. S. and French territory.
In the name of national security, NORAD stated that” an ADIZ begins where sovereign airspace ends, and it is a defined section of international airspace that warrants the prompt identification of all aircraft,” adding that the U.S. and Canadian forces were “ready” to respond if necessary.
” NORAD employs a layered defense network of satellites, ground-based and airborne radars and fighter aircraft in seamless interoperability to detect and track aircraft”, it said.
The joint operation by Chinese and Russian aircraft near America, according to Lloyd Austin, is the largest joint operation ever conducted by the United States Defense Secretary.
At a Thursday press conference held at the Pentagon, Austin said,” This is the first time we’ve seen these two countries fly together like that.” ” They’re always testing us, and that’s no surprise to any of us”.
Russia’s Defense Ministry released images of the Russian and Chinese jets flying over the Bering Sea, as well as the Chukchi sea to the north, and said in , a statement , that the four jets had at times been “accompanied” at times by fighter jets from “foreign” forces.
Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesman for the Chinese Defense Ministry in Beijing, claimed the aircraft were conducting a” joint strategic aerial patrol” to “enhance” their ability to cooperate and that it was not intended to convey any messages.
” This action is not aimed at third parties”, Zhang said. It is in line with international laws and international practices, and it is unrelated to the region’s and current situation.
” Freedom of navigation”
The aircraft’s intercept is not the first time Chinese military forces have been seen close to American and Canadian borders.
Chinese naval ships have in the past month been detected operating within the U. S. Exclusive Economic Zone but in international waters near Alaska’s Aleutian Islands,  , telling , U. S. Coast Guard ships via radio that they were conducting “freedom of navigation” operations.
The United States military’s frequent “freedom of navigation” tours of specific areas of the South China Sea, which are intended to counter China’s extensive sovereign claims to international waters, have consistently irritated Beijing, were used as an explanation for their presence.
After that incident, Sen. Dan Sullivan, a Republican from Alaska, said he believed it was only the beginning of what would be an increased Chinese military and naval presence around American territory.
” Our military needs to be ready for increasing Chinese, and joint Chinese and Russian military activity near Alaska’s coast”, Sullivan said in a , post , to X. Alaskans should be informed that our military is working to protect our state and our nation, and that America should be much more prepared for the growing Arctic activity.
Russia has also stepped up its military presence near U. S. territory, recently conducting , military exercises , with Cuba, which lies about 90 miles ( 145 kms ) south of Florida. China has built its own intelligence gathering facility in Cuba, according to a report earlier this month.
The report, issued by the Center for Strategic and International Studies on July 1, said the spy station would allow Beijing to monitor air and maritime traffic up to 9, 000 miles ( 14, 500 kms ) away, prompting , security concerns , from U. S. defense officials and diplomats.
Beijing has denied that it is attempting to invade the continental United States, and Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, has refuted any claims that such a spy station exists.
” Such claims are nothing but slander”, Liu wrote, also in , a post to X. ” The US side should stop smearing China immediately.”
Chilly reception
Washington, Beijing, and Moscow are competing for geopolitical dominance in the Arctic region as a result of the joint Chinese-Russian drills that are taking place near Alaska.
The Pentagon this week , released , its updated Arctic strategy. It urged a greater U.S. military focus on operating in the Arctic region and warned that Beijing and Moscow’s plans to expand their presence there” can hold U.S. and allied territories at risk.”
” The People’s Republic of China, not an Arctic nation, is increasing its presence in the Arctic”, it said in a statement, noting Beijing already has a military presence, including three icebreakers, in the Arctic and was pushing to have a greater role in how the region is governed.  ,
By conducting operations with the Russian navy, the Chinese military also demonstrated its capability to operate in the Arctic, according to the statement.
In a press briefing on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning called China an “important stakeholder” in the Arctic that “always follows the basic principle of respect” there.
At the briefing, Mao claimed that the United States “misrepresented China’s Arctic policy and pointed fingers at its regular operations in the Arctic that were conducted in full compliance with international law.” ” This is not conducive to peace, stability and cooperation in the Arctic”.
However, Moscow has acknowledged the military component.
In , an article , about tensions over the Arctic, Russian state media quoted Ekaterina Labetskaya, an international relations researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, as saying that Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO this year had changed calculations.
The Arctic has long been the northernmost frontline of a global hybrid war, spearheaded by the United States, against Russia and its friendly neighbors with regional interests, according to Labetskaya.  ,
In response to shifting global alliances, she continued,” Russia and China are looking at the Arctic from a new angle.”
