South Korea, Japan Scramble Jets Due to China-Russia Joint Air Patrol

By Staff, Agencies

South Korea’s defense ministry has lodged a “stern” protest with Beijing and Moscow, local media reported, after Chinese and Russian military planes entered the country’s air defense identification zone unannouncedly during what China’s defense ministry said was a joint patrol exercise.

South Korean fighter jets were scrambled on Tuesday in response to the presence of four Chinese and four Russian military aircraft which did not violate the country’s airspace but did enter South Korea’s air defense identification zone [KADIZ].

Unlike a country’s airspace – the air above its territory and territorial waters – there are no international rules governing air defense zones.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said aircraft were expected to identify their presence when they enter the air defense zone “so as to prevent accidental clashes,” South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported on Tuesday.

“Our military identified the Chinese and Russian planes before their entry into the KADIZ and deployed Air Force fighters to conduct tactical steps in preparation against potential accidental situations,” Yonhap reported, citing a statement from the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

South Korea’s defense ministry said on Wednesday that it had lodged a protest with the Chinese and Russian embassies in Seoul and expressed regret their military aircraft had flown near “sensitive areas close to our air space,” Yonhap reported.

The ministry called on both countries to “take appropriate measures to prevent a recurrence, noting that such a flight could cause regional tensions,” Yonhap added.

Japan also said it scrambled fighter jets on Tuesday in response to a pair of Russian bomber planes that were joined by two Chinese bombers over the Sea of Japan and flew together as far as the East China Sea, where they were then joined by two Chinese fighter planes.

China’s defense ministry said the joint patrol was part of a cooperation plan between Beijing and Moscow and was the sixth such exercise since 2019.

South Korea also scrambled fighter jets in November 2022 during China’s last joint aerial patrol with Russia when Chinese H-6K bombers and Russian TU-95 bombers and SU-35 fighter jets entered the KADIZ.