Chinese and Russian bombers were detected and intercepted off the coast of Alaska for the first time on Wednesday, according to joint US and Canadian defence agency Norad.
North American Aerospace Defence Command said it “detected, tracked, and intercepted” two Russian Tu-95 and two Chinese H-6 warplanes operating in the Alaska Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ).
The incident marked the first time the two countries’ militaries had entered the area at the same time, a US defence official told Air & Space Forces Magazine.
It was also the first time a Chinese H-6 had flown into the ADIZ – an international airspace that acts as a buffer zone with sovereign territory, where the ready identification of all aircraft is required in the interest of national security.
According to the Norad statement, US F-16 and F-35 fighter jets and Canadian CF-18s intercepted the Chinese and Russian bombers which “remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace”.
“This Russian and PRC [People’s Republic of China] activity in the Alaska ADIZ is not seen as a threat and Norad will continue to monitor competitor activity near North America and meet presence with presence.”
Norad added that it “remains ready to employ a number of response options in defence of North America”.
While Russian aircraft regularly enter Alaska’s ADIZ – four flew into the zone in May – the presence of their Chinese counterparts appears to be a new development.
The Arctic region’s strategic importance has gained growing attention – not only as a potential flashpoint between the US and Russia, but also as a marine passage linking the Asia-Pacific and Europe, opening up as climate change melts the ice.
In its Arctic policy published in 2018, China proclaimed itself a “near-Arctic state”. Since then, Beijing has worked to expand its presence in the far north, with the Chinese and Russian aircraft’s entry into the Alaska ADIZ coming amid increasing military ties between the two countries.
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General Gregory Guillot, head of US Northern Command and Norad, warned the US Senate’s armed services committee in March of his service’s concerns about China’s willingness and desire to act in the far north.
Guillot told a committee hearing in March that he expected to see Chinese air activity in the Alaskan part of the Arctic “as soon as this year potentially”.
Earlier this month, the US coastguard spotted four Chinese naval vessels in the US exclusive economic zone near the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska. The ships said their purpose was a “freedom of navigation operation”.
Also in July, China and Russia conducted their Joint Sea-2024 naval exercises in the South China Sea, near Zhanjiang, in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong. The Chinese defence ministry said the exercise aimed to show “the resolve and capabilities of the two sides in jointly addressing maritime security threats”.
