Crystal Dike
South Korea and Japan on Wednesday condemned joint military patrols by Chinese and Russian aircraft near their airspace, prompting both countries to scramble fighter jets in response.
Seoul said it lodged formal protests with Beijing and Moscow after several Russian and Chinese warplanes entered its air defence identification zone (KADIZ) on Tuesday. Japan also said it conveyed its “serious concerns” over what it described as threats to national security.
According to Tokyo, two Russian Tu-95 nuclear-capable bombers flew from the Sea of Japan on Tuesday to rendezvous with two Chinese H-6 bombers in the East China Sea before conducting a joint flight around Japan.
Japan’s Defence Minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, said on X on Wednesday that the manoeuvre was “clearly intended as a show of force against our nation.” Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara added that Japan had conveyed its concerns to both China and Russia through diplomatic channels.
In Seoul, the defence ministry said the aircraft were detected before entering the KADIZ, a zone used to identify and monitor approaching aircraft but which lies outside sovereign airspace. South Korea deployed fighter jets to take “tactical measures in preparation for any contingencies,” according to Lee Kwang-suk, Director-General of the International Policy Bureau.
“Our military will continue to respond actively to the activities of neighbouring countries’ aircraft within the KADIZ in compliance with international law,” Lee said.
China later on Tuesday confirmed that the patrol was conducted under its annual military cooperation plan with Russia. Moscow also described the exercise as routine, saying it lasted about eight hours and that foreign fighter jets monitored the operation.
Since 2019, Chinese and Russian military aircraft have regularly flown into South Korea’s air defence zone without prior notice during joint drills. The most recent previous incident occurred in November last year, when five Chinese and six Russian aircraft entered the zone. Similar cases were recorded in June and December 2023, and in May and November 2022.
Separately, Japan said on Monday it scrambled jets in response to repeated takeoff and landing drills involving Chinese fighter aircraft and military helicopters from the Liaoning aircraft carrier in international waters near Japan.
Tokyo also summoned China’s ambassador after aircraft from the Liaoning locked radar onto Japanese jets — the latest escalation linked to comments made last month by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi regarding Taiwan.
Takaichi suggested that Japan could intervene militarily if China attacked Taiwan. Beijing, which claims the self-ruled island as its territory, has not ruled out using force to bring it under its control.