Eleven Russian and Chinese military aircraft entered South Korea's air defense identification zone for more than four hours on Friday, Nov. 29, prompting the Republic of Korea Air Force to deploy its own fighter jets to intercept them.
The Russian and Chinese squadron consisted of six Russian and five Chinese military aircraft. The Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces confirmed in a statement that the 11 aircraft entered the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ) in the East Sea and South Sea (western and southwestern borders of the Sea of Japan, respectively). The 11 military aircraft were in the area from 9:35 a.m. to 1:53 p.m. local time.
The statement noted that while the planes entered the air defense identification zone, they did so "without violating South Korean airspace," adding that the military "identified the aircraft before they entered KADIZ and deployed Air Force fighter jets to take tactical measures in preparation for any contingencies."
The South Korean Ministry of National Defense said it "expressed regret" to China and Russia over their military aircraft entering the KADIZ and "flying for an extended period without prior notice."
The ministry requested that "appropriate measures be taken to prevent a recurrence," warning that future incursions could "unnecessarily heighten tensions in the region."
Chinese-Russian aircraft part of "joint strategic patrol"
China's Ministry of National Defense confirmed the joint Russian-Chinese flight, stating that it was the ninth "joint strategic patrol" between the two nations. The ministry added in a post on its official social media account that the flights were held "according to the annual cooperation plan between the Chinese and Russian militaries."
The Russian and Chinese aircraft exited the KADIZ without incident.
The joint Russian-Chinese flight over the KADIZ comes as South Korea, the United States and other allied nations express growing concern over the increasing military cooperation between Russia and China as well as with North Korea. (Related: Russia and China reaffirm their "no limit" partnership amid rising tensions with the West.)
China and Russia have been flying joint aircraft patrols for some time now. Their first venture into South Korea's air defense zone was in 2019, when it did so without prior notice and claimed that the Chinese-Russian air incursion was a joint exercise.
Similar incidents were recorded in May and November 2022 and in June and December 2023, with Russia and China repeatedly describing the flights as "joint strategic air patrols."
An air defense identification zone is an area that extends beyond the country's official airspace in which its air force attempts to control the flow of aircraft for national security. The concept of an air defense identification zone is not defined in any international treaty, and no international organization governs what happens when a nation violates the air defense identification zone of another.
Chinese and Russian jets have been entering the air defense identification zones of other nations in the past few years.
In September, Japan reported using flares to warn a Russian recon aircraft to leave northern Japanese airspace. In July, two Russian and two Chinese strategic bomber aircraft entered the Alaska Air Defense Zone, prompting the scrambling of American F-16 and F-35 and Canadian CF-18 fighter jets and other support aircraft.
Watch this video from Warren Thornton which discusses how China is investigating South Korea's complicity in escalating the conflict with Ukraine.
This video is from the Sanivan channel on Brighteon.com.
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