US military intercepts Russian, Chinese bombers near Alaska _ World English News _ WION
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00:00The top of the world is turning into a military flashpoint. The Arctic Circle is being viewed as an increasingly
00:06strategic region with Russia and China on one side and the US and its allies on the other.
00:13In the latest, the US military has intercepted several Russian and Chinese bombers in international airspace
00:19near the coast of Alaska. The North American Aerospace Defense Command or NORAD has said in a statement that two Russian
00:26Tu-95s and two Chinese H-6s entered what is known as the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone.
00:34The aircraft were detected, tracked and intercepted and did not enter US airspace.
00:39The bombers were intercepted by US F-16 and F-35 fighter jets along with Canadian CF-18s.
00:46According to US defense officials, this was the first time ever that Russian and Chinese aircraft have jointly entered Alaska.
00:53This and also the first time Chinese H-6s have encroached off Alaska.
01:00China's defense ministry has responded saying the air patrol with Russia near Alaska
01:04conformed with international law and was not aimed at a third party.
01:09The ministry spokesperson added that the patrol was conducted to test and enhance the level of cooperation between the two air forces.
01:18This confrontation in the Arctic airspace coming just days after the US released its Arctic strategy report
01:24in which it claimed that growing cooperation between China and Russia in the Arctic could threaten regional stability.
01:30The Pentagon report was released earlier this week. It noted that in recent years, Russia has beefed up its military presence in the Arctic.
01:38Washington says Moscow has reopened and modernized several bases and airfields abandoned since the end of the Soviet era
01:47China on the other front describes itself as a near Arctic state and has its eyes on the region's mineral resources and new shipping routes.
01:56It has said that it intends to build a polar silk road.
02:00Beijing and Moscow have hit out at Washington's claims.
02:03They say their cooperation is not aimed against any other country and that America's criticism is misplaced and confrontational.
02:17It is not aimed against any third countries or groups of third countries.
02:22It is aimed only to protect the interests of these countries and to improve the welfare of the peoples of the two countries.
02:30This is what can be said. Therefore, yes, the manifestations of confrontation are visible even in this document, which was published by the Pentagon.
02:41On Wednesday, Russia said it scrambled fighter jets to escort two British typhoon fighter jets over the Black Sea.
02:49And just days ago, Moscow also said it scrambled jets to intercept two U.S. military long-range bomber aircraft over the Barents Sea.
02:58It said to make fighter jets was scrambled when radar detected two U.S. bombers approaching Russian territory.
03:06The Arctic is one of the last remaining untapped areas of the world.
03:10Its extreme temperatures have long acted as a natural barrier to exploitation.
03:15But climate change is enabling increased access to shipping as well as fossil fuels.
03:21The polar region is thereby being viewed as increasingly strategic and military activity by the U.S., Canada, Russia and China has ramped up.
03:31Global warming is shrinking ice coverage in the Arctic and global powers are keeping the pot boiling.
03:37As regional tensions in the Asia-Pacific flare up, the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to embark on a 10-day tour across six countries in Asia.
03:47The visit to Laos, Vietnam, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, Mongolia is one of his longest foreign trips to date.
03:54Washington hopes this will indicate a strong commitment to the region against its strategic challenger, China.