TOKYO/SEOUL/WASHINGTON--Russian and Chinese bombers flew joint patrols near Japanese and South Korea air defense zones on Tuesday in a pointed farewell to U.S. President Joe Biden as he concluded a trip to Asia that rankled Beijing.
The patrols came hours after Biden angered China by saying he would be willing to respond militarily to defend Taiwan if it came under Chinese attack, and as he discussed responses to Russia's invasion of Ukraine with leaders of the Quad, which groups the United States with Australia, India and Japan.
Japan said it scrambled jets after Russian and Chinese warplanes neared its airspace while Tokyo was hosting the Quad leaders. Tokyo called the drills a provocation.
It was the first joint military exercise by China and Russia since Moscow invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, according to a senior U.S. official, and it came at the end of Biden's four-day trip to South Korea and Japan. "China is not walking away from Russia. Instead, the exercise shows that China is ready to help Russia defend its east while Russia fights in its west," the official said.
State Department spokesman Ned Price told a regular briefing the joint patrol traversed the Sea of Japan and continued through the East China Sea and the Philippine Sea. He said the exercise was likely planned well in advance and showed that the "no-limits" strategic partnership Beijing and Moscow declared weeks before the Ukraine invasion was "quite alive and well."
"On the other hand the president’s successful visit ... demonstrates a stark contrast to what we've seen from Russia and China; it demonstrates our commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific region," he said.
Biden's trip was part of U.S. efforts to push back against what Washington calls Beijing's "coercive" behaviour, including against Taiwan, a self-ruled island Beijing claims as it own. In Asia, Biden vowed that Washington would stand with allies and partners to push for a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
At a news conference on Monday, Biden said "yes" when asked if he would be willing to respond militarily to a Chinese attack on Taiwan, seeming to break with a long-held policy of not making clear how the United States might react. It was the latest in a series of apparently off-the-cuff assertions that suggest his personal inclination is to defend the island, although Biden said U.S. policy had not changed.
Some critics have said he has misspoken or made a gaffe. But other analysts have suggested that, given Biden's extensive foreign policy experience and the context - he was speaking next to the Japanese prime minister and while the war in Ukraine raged on - he had not spoken in error. Analysts and advisers said Biden went to Asia with a clear message for China not to try what Russia did in Ukraine anywhere in the region, especially not Taiwan.
The joint patrol lasted 13 hours over the Japanese and East China seas and involved Russian Tu-95 strategic bombers and Chinese Xian H-6 bombers, Russia's defense ministry said. Japanese and South Korean air force planes shadowed the Russian and Chinese aircraft for part of the exercise, it said.
