Russia and China fly joint bomber patrol mission over East China Sea as Putin cosies up to Beijing

BOMBERS from China and Russia have flown over the Pacific in a joint patrol mission.

It signals increasingly strong military ties between the two country's capitals, Beijing and Moscow.

The Russian military said that a pair of its Tu-95 strategic bombers and four Chinese H-6K bombers flew over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea.

In a statement, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the joint mission was intended to “develop and deepen the comprehensive Russia-China partnership, further increase the level of cooperation between the two militaries, expand their ability for joint action and strengthen strategic stability.”

It added that the patrol flight “wasn't directed against any third countries.”

This mission was the second flight of its kind since a July 2019 patrol over the same area.

It follows a statement from Russian president Vladmir Putin in October, where he hinted about a future military alliance between Russia and China that would be more powerful than the US.

Until then, the two countries had hailed their "strategic partnership", but had so far stopped short of creating a such an alliance.

Putin also noted in October that war games Russia and China carried out highlight how well the two country's cooperate.

He also hinted that Russia has shared military technology with China, but declined to go into any specifics.

"Without any doubt, our cooperation with China is bolstering the defense capability of China's army." Putin said.

"Time will show how it will develop. We won't exclude it."

It comes after experts warned Russian and Chinese space weapons could "unleash havoc" in a satellite attack which could cost the UK some £1 billion a day.

It is feared an orbital onslaught could shut down hospitals, crash the economy, knock out communications, and cause mass blackouts.

After Russia's relations with the West sank to post-Cold War lows over Moscow's seizure of Ukraine's Crimea and allegations of meddling in the 2016 US presidential election among other issues, the country has sought to develop better ties with China.

Meanwhile China has seen relations with the US plunge to new lows due to the coronavirus pandemic and rows over the South China Sea and Taiwan.

Russia and China would outnumber the US two-to-one in terms of active military personnel, comparing 3.2million to 1.4million.

They would also have a vastly larger fleet of tanks - with 16,450 total - and warships, with a total of 1,380.

And with Russia already having the largest nuclear stockpile in the world, combining with China's nukes pushes them in further ahead.

The US however would maintain advantages in some areas, such as having many more warplanes - with 13,264 compared to 7,373.

Aircraft carriers are also one of the most important ways of projecting power worldwide - and the US have 11 with two more under construction.