China and Russia's Joint Air Patrol Raises Concerns in South Korea.
China and Russia conducted their sixth joint air patrol over the Sea of Japan and East China Sea, prompting South Korea to scramble fighter jets. The patrol was part of the two militaries' annual cooperation plan. The joint aerial patrols are a result of long expanding bilateral ties built partly on a mutual sense of threat from the United States and other military alliances. China's increasing military assertiveness in the region has coincided with an increase in military manoeuvres and drills by the United States and its allies in the region.