On Wednesday, American and Canadian fighter aircraft seized two Russian and Chinese nuclear bombers off the coast of Alaska. According to the Pentagon, this is the first time this has happened. It was stated on Thursday in a press conference by Lloyd Austin these interactions were “not a surprise.”
The said aircraft did not enter the US airspace and was off the coast for about 200 miles. Two Russian TU-95 bombers and two Chinese H-6 bombers were caught flying in international space; they were intercepted by NORAD forces from the US and Canada.
Austin stated, “We closely monitored these aircraft, tracked the aircraft, intercepted the aircraft, which demonstrates that forces are at the ready all the time and we have very good surveillance capabilities.”
During the press conference, concerns were raised about developing ties between China and Russia. “This is a relationship that we have been concerned about throughout, mostly because we’re concerned about China providing support to Russia’s illegal and unnecessary war in Ukraine. And we’ve seen evidence of that, and we would hope that that would cease going forward,” he said.
With strong economic relations with Russia, China has openly taken a neutral position over the current crisis between Russia and Ukraine, Western authorities have voiced their concerns about the Chinese shipments of dual-use products, which may be used for economic and military uses.
Furthermore, climate change has created more military and economic rivalry, which has caused the two nations to cooperate in the Arctic. The US Department of Defense has voiced worries over this growing cooperation. Moscow and Beijing, on the other hand, have dismissed American concerns by claiming that their Arctic actions have no bearing on the United States.
