Global & US Headlines
China-Russia Bomber Loop Triggers Rapid US-Japan B-52 Counter-Drill
Within 24 hours of a Sino-Russian eight-hour bomber circuit around Japan on 9 Dec 2025, the US flew two B-52s with six Japanese fighters over the Sea of Japan, signalling immediate allied deterrence.
Focusing Facts
- Russian Tu-95MS and Chinese H-6 bombers, escorted by J-16s and Su-30s, circled Japan for roughly 8 hours on 9 Dec 2025, prompting Tokyo and Seoul to scramble jets.
- At dawn on 10 Dec 2025, two US B-52H bombers flew in formation with three JASDF F-35s and three F-15s over the Sea of Japan, the first publicly announced US strategic sortie there since August 2024.
- Japan lodged formal protests and summoned China’s ambassador, while NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte held an emergency call with Japan’s defence minister on 10 Dec.
Context
Joint bomber probes by Moscow and Beijing—first staged in July 2019 and repeated almost annually—echo Cold-War ‘Bear’ patrols that tested NORAD in the 1960s, and resemble the 1958 US show-of-force flights during the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis. The pattern reflects two converging long-term currents: (1) a maturing Sino-Russian military entente that leverages coordinated strategic aviation to signal coalition resolve without breaching sovereign airspace, and (2) Japan’s steady break from its post-1947 pacifist constraints, now fielding F-35s and contemplating direct involvement in a Taiwan contingency. In a 100-year view, this episode is a datapoint in the gradual dissolution of the post-1991 unipolar moment—regional powers are hard-testing US alliance trip-wires while Washington replies with nuclear-capable bomber ‘reassurance’ flights reminiscent of the 1950s. Whether these aerial chess moves ossify into a new Cold-War-style routine or spark an inadvertent escalation will influence East Asia’s security architecture for decades.
Perspectives
Japanese and allied mainstream outlets
e.g., The Straits Times, CNA — Frame the joint China-Russia patrols as an alarming show of force that threatens regional security, justifying Japan-US bomber drills as a necessary deterrent. Rely heavily on Japanese government statements and NATO rhetoric, downplaying Beijing and Moscow’s claim the flights were routine and thereby reinforcing Tokyo’s case for a bigger military build-up.
Alternative finance & news aggregators that amplify Russian/Chinese framing
e.g., Zero Hedge, South Africa Today — Highlight that Moscow says no airspace was violated and that the eight-hour patrol was a ‘routine exercise’, implying Tokyo’s reaction is exaggerated and linked to its own provocative talk on Taiwan. By foregrounding Russian and Chinese official lines and casting doubt on Japan’s narrative, they risk normalising coercive military signalling while courting an anti-establishment, click-driven audience.
China-critical U.S. outlets
e.g., NTD, EconoTimes — Portray the radar locks and bomber patrols as clear Chinese aggression, stressing Washington’s ‘unwavering’ commitment to back Japan and showcase allied military power. Their Falun Gong and hawkish U.S. leanings incentivise emphasising threat perceptions to galvanise anti-Beijing sentiment, omitting context that Tokyo’s Taiwan rhetoric helped spark the flare-up.