(DailyDig.com) – On July 24, US and Canadian military fighter jets obstructed the flights of two Chinese and two Russian aircraft. They had been operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) but had not entered US airspace.
The announcement came from the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), comprised of both the US and Canadian military, as they tracked the four aircraft. NORAD claimed that the bomber aircraft did not enter either US or Canadian sovereign territory and were not operating in a threatening manner.
NORAD has made it clear that it constantly monitors any activity in the ADIZ. The ADIZ is a location that borders sovereign airspace and is considered the span in international airspace where all traffic must identify themselves to maintain our national security.
The bombers from Russia were TU-95 jets, and the Chinese aircraft were H-6 jets. The command also stated that activity in this airspace “occurs regularly” and does not threaten sovereign airspace.
US defense officials claimed that this was the first time they had intercepted Russian and Chinese military aircraft flying together in ADIZ. The intercept operation was conducted by F-35 and F-16 jets from the United States and CF-18 jets from Canada.
According to the Chinese Defense Ministry on July 25, they and Russia have been operating joint aerial patrols throughout the Bering Sea’s airspace annually since 2019. In a press release, the Chinese ministry spokesperson, Zhang Xiaogang, stated that this was the eighth of the joint military patrols. The goal of these patrols has been to test and improve the two countries’ shared operational collaboration.
Zhang clarified that the purpose was not to test the response of any other nation to their patrols. He said it is within the laws and practices of international agreements.
The Russian Defense Ministry also stated that the patrol was a part of their 2024 exercises in cooperation with China and had nothing to do with action by any other country.
Lloyd Austin, US Defense Secretary, said that the patrol only came 200 miles from the US coastline.
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