Yu-cheng Chen
On November 29, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Russia conducted their ninth “Joint Strategic Air Patrol (联合空中战略巡航),” their second of 2024 (People’s Daily Online, November 30). During the operation, the PRC deployed its H-6N bomber, the first time the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has introduced a bomber with nuclear capabilities into such patrols. The flight traversed the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea without entering Japanese or Republic of Korea’s airspace, though it still garnered attention from the United States and regional actors (Global Times, November 29; Reuters, November 30). This patrol was the first such military cooperation conducted following the US presidential election, though it was not necessarily unusual—the seventh joint strategic air patrol took place at a similar time in 2023 (MND, December 14, 2023).
The patrol is part of increasing Sino-Russian military cooperation, which seeks to increase deterrence against the United States and its allies, as well as seeking to more proactively assert the two countries’ rights and interests. Over the past few months, the two countries have coordinated in two maritime exercises, as well as joint maritime law enforcement activities in the Arctic Sea. This latter exercise indicates the PRC’s growing interest in using Russia to expand its presence in the Arctic.
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