Russia and China staged a joint patrol over the north Pacific Ocean and the Bering and Chukchi Seas near the coast of Alaska, according to the Russian Defence Ministry.
Russia and China conduct join air patrol over North Pacific
Russian Il-76 air tanker, top, demonstrates refueling a Tu-95 bomber, bottom, as they fly above the Moscow Red Square, during the annual Victory Day parade. 09/05/2008
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ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO/AP2008
The patrol, consisting of two Russian and two Chinese bomber jets, was intercepted by joint US-Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) on Wednesday.
NORAD said the bombers stayed in international airspace and were not seen as a threat.
The Russian Defence Ministry said on Thursday that the air patrol was held as part of the Russian-Chinese military cooperation plan for 2024 and was "not aimed at any third party".
The Ministry added that "at certain stages of the route, the aviation group was accompanied by fighter jets of foreign countries". It did not provide further details.
The patrol consisted of Russian TU95MS strategic missile carriers and Chinese Xian H-6 strategic bombers, according to Russia. The bombers are all nuclear-capable.
China and Russia have drawn closer in recent years and regularly carry out joint military exercises. However, this was the first joint patrol in the north Pacific area with bombers from both countries.