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By Alia Shoaib
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The Pentagon said that Russian and Chinese bombers flying near Alaska on Wednesday was the first time the two countries had been seen operating together in that manner.
In a press conference on Thursday, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that the Russian and Chinese aircraft movements were "not a surprise."
"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. And of course, I won't discuss any intelligence issues here at the podium," Austin said.
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"But again, it's the first time that we've seen these two countries fly together like that," he added.
Austin said that the aircraft did not enter U.S. airspace and were about 200 miles off the coast.
"If it happens again, if there is any kind of a challenge from any direction, I have every confidence that NORTHCOM and NORAD will be at the ready and will be able to intercept," he said.
Two Russian TU-95 and two Chinese H-6 military aircraft had been detected flying in international airspace near Alaska before they were intercepted by the U.S. and Canada, which together make up NORAD, the organization said.
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In the press briefing, Austin added that the U.S. was "concerned" about the relationship between Russia and China.
"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.
"We'll see what happens and how this relationship continues to develop. We will remain focused on protecting the homeland here," he added.
Newsweek reached out to the Pentagon, the Russian Foreign Ministry and China's embassy in Washington DC via email.
While China maintains a neutral public stance on the war in Ukraine, it has maintained economic ties with Russia.
Western officials have also expressed concern about the Chinese export of dual use items to Russia, which are components that can be utilized for both military and commercial purposes.
The two countries have also recently been increasing cooperation in the Arctic, both militarily and economically, as climate change opens up greater competition.
The U.S. Department of Defense has also expressed concerns about the growing cooperation of the two countries in the region.
Moscow and Beijing have previously rejected the U.S.' worries, stating that their Arctic activities are unrelated to the United States.
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