China: Russia joint air patrol didn't target 3rd country

China said on Wednesday that its joint air patrol mission with Russia did not target any third country.

It was responding to a complaint by South Korea after military aircraft of China and Russia entered the South Korean Air Defense Identification Zone without notice.

Russian and Chinese bombers flew a joint patrol mission over the Western Pacific on Tuesday in a show of increasingly close military ties between Moscow and Beijing.

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.

"The Air Defense Identification Zone is not an airspace, where all countries enjoy freedom of overflight in accordance with international law," said Zhao Lijian, spokesperson of China's Foreign Ministry.

During this training, Chinese and Russian military aircraft strictly abided by the relevant provisions of international law and did not enter the airspace of other countries.

At the Chinese Foreign Ministry briefing in Beijing on Wednesday, Zhao criticized the warning advisory from the Trump administration over Chinese data services and equipment as out of  "Cold War mentality and ideological prejudice".

The Department of Homeland Security warned U.S. firms against using data services and equipment from firms linked to China because of cyber security and other risks.

The advisory said the US networks and data have been exposed to cyber threats from China which give Chinese firms an unfair competitive advantage and put the U.S. economy and businesses at direct risk for exploitation.

"Containment and suppression will not stop China's development and growth," said Zhao.

It will only damage the mutual trust and cooperation between China and the US and intensify contradictions and frictions between the two.

Zhao also denied the report of a Chinese-Australian writer being tortured during his dention in China.

Yang Hengjun, who was taen into custody in January last year, has told family he had been tortured during almost two years in detention in China but maintains confidence he will receive justice in court.

The 55-year-old spy novelist and pro-democracy blogger was formally charged with espionage in October, opening a path to him standing trial.

"Various legal rights of Yang Jun (also known as Yang Hengjun) are fully guaranteed according to law," said Zhao.

There is no such thing as torture or mistreatment.

(IMAGE CREDITS:AP)