Defense ministry defends China-Russia joint patrol

The joint patrol conducted by the Chinese and Russian navies in the West and North Pacific was not targeted at any third party and had nothing to do with current affairs, a defense spokesman said on Monday.

Senior Colonel Wu Qian, spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks in response to allegations from the Japanese Defense Ministry's Joint Staff Office and United States Representative Mike Rogers, Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.

Japan's defense authority said Chinese and Russian naval vessels entered the Sea of Okhotsk via the Soya Strait, noting its Maritime Self-Defense Force sent warships and jets to monitor the joint naval formation.

The US congressman claimed in a Wednesday statement China and Russia's recent naval patrol was "meant to intimidate" the US and stressed the US "cannot be intimidated".

Wu said naval fleets from China and Russia carried out joint maritime patrols in certain waters of the western and northern Pacific Ocean in accordance with the annual cooperation plan between the Chinese and Russian militaries.

"This operation is not targeting any third party and is unrelated to the current international and regional situation," he stated. "During the joint patrol, naval vessels from both China and Russia strictly adhered to international law and conducted the entire journey in international waters."

"The close monitoring by the Japanese side is highly dangerous and could have caused misunderstandings, misjudgments or accidents," he said, adding Japan should not disrupt the healthy development of China-Japan ties and cease irresponsible actions that would undermine regional peace and stability.

He pointed out cooperation between the Chinese and Russian militaries is "open and transparent" and intended to jointly defend international fairness and justice, as well as maintain global and regional security and stability.

"It is fundamentally different from the practices of countries that cling to a Cold War mentality and engage in bloc confrontation, hegemony and bullying," he said.