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Two Russian Tu-95MS bombers perform flight over Sea of Japan, Yellow and East China Seas

The bombers were escorted by Russian Su-35S fighter jets and A-50 long-range radar surveillance planes

Tu-95MS bomber Alexander Ryumin/TASS

Tu-95MS bomber

© Alexander Ryumin/TASS

MOSCOW, October 22. /TASS/. Two Russian Tu-95MS strategic missile-carrying bombers performed a flight over the neutral waters of the Sea of Japan, the Yellow and East China Seas, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Tuesday.

"Two Tu-95MS strategic missile-carrying bombers of the Aerospace Force performed planned flights over the neutral waters of the Sea of Japan, the Yellow and East China Seas," the ministry said in a statement.

The bombers were escorted by Russian Su-35S fighter jets and A-50 long-range radar surveillance planes, the statement says.

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At some stages of the flight route, the Tu-95MS bombers were shadowed by a pair of F-15 and F-16 fighters of South Korea’s Air Force and F-2 fighters of Japan’s Air Force, according to the statement.

"Long-range aviation pilots regularly perform flights in strict compliance with the International Rules of Using the Airspace, without violating the borders of other states," Russia’s Defense Ministry emphasized.

A spokesperson for the South Korean Defense Ministry told TASS over the phone on Tuesday that six Russian warplanes (an A-50 radar surveillance plane, three Su-27 fighters and two Tu-95 bombers) had entered Seoul’s air defense identification zone north of Ulleungdo Island in the Sea of Japan at 09:23 local time (03:23 Moscow time) and left it seven minutes later. However, the aircraft entered the air defense zone several more times in the next six hours, the South Korean Defense Ministry claimed, pointing out that the Russian aircraft had not violated the country’s airspace.

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FACTBOX: Collective Security Treaty Organization

The Collective Security Treaty came into force on April 20, 1994 to herald the emergence what would eventually become the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The six member-countries are Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan