Chinese and Russian military aircraft entered the South Korean Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ) unannounced during what China’s defense ministry said was a joint patrol exercise, local media reported. Subsequently, South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense lodged a “solemn” protest to Beijing and Moscow.
On Tuesday, June 6, South Korean warplanes were scrambled in response to the presence of four Chinese and four Russian military aircraft. The planes did not violate South Korean airspace, but did enter the Korean Air Defense Identification Zone.
Unlike a country’s airspace, the airspace above its territory and territorial sea, there are no international rules for air defense zones.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the planes were expected to be recognized as they entered the air defense zone “to prevent accidental conflicts,” Yonhap news agency reported on Tuesday.
The Yonhap News Agency quoted the statement of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as saying, “Our military will identify Chinese and Russian aircraft before they enter the air defense identification zone, and deploy air force fighters for tactical deployment in case of emergency.”
According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense said on Wednesday that it had lodged a protest with the Chinese and Russian embassies in Seoul and expressed regret that their military aircraft flew close to “sensitive areas near our airspace.”
The ministry called on the two countries to “take appropriate measures to prevent such a situation from happening again, noting that such flight activities may lead to regional tensions,” Yonhap added.
Japan also said it also scrambled fighter jets on Tuesday in response to two Chinese bombers joining two Russian bombers over the Sea of Japan and flying together to the East China Sea, where they were then rounded by two Chinese fighter jets.
China’s Defense Ministry said the joint patrol was part of a cooperative program between Beijing and Moscow and the sixth such exercise since 2019.
In November 2022, during the last joint air patrol between China and Russia, when China’s “H-6K” bombers and Russia’s “Tu-95” bombers and “Su-35” fighter jets entered the ADIZ, South Korea also scrambled its fighter jets .
Also, during a joint patrol in May 2022, Chinese and Russian warplanes approached Japanese airspace on the occasion of a quadrilateral summit in Tokyo with the leaders of the United States, India and Australia. Although China said the patrol was not intended to intimidate, the air drills raised alarms in Japan.
The joint patrols by Beijing and Moscow are part of an expanded relationship between the two countries, a so-called “unrestricted” partnership.
As China continues to expand its military footprint in the Asia-Pacific region, the United States and its regional allies are also increasing military exercises.
the White House also recently warned of violent clashes between U.S. and Chinese forces, including ships and aircraft, in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told Asia’s top security summit, the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore over the weekend, that more communication is needed between Beijing and Washington to avert a crisis.
Lloyd said he was “deeply concerned” by China’s reluctance to engage in “better crisis management mechanisms” between their respective militaries.
“The more we talk, the more we can avoid misunderstandings and miscalculations that could lead to crises or conflicts,” he said.
Austin also singled out Chinese aircraft for “taking the risk of intercepting U.S. and allied aircraft legally flying in international airspace.”
“We will not be intimidated by dangerous maneuvers at sea or in international airspace,” he said.
On this matter, China claims that Washington’s close surveillance of Chinese territory provoked such incidents.
