Russia and China Intrude on US Ally's Air Defense Space with Joint Military Maneuver
Nineteen Chinese and Russian aircraft intruded into South Korea’s air defense identification zone on Tuesday, forcing the United States ally to scramble fighter jets in response.
Four Chinese warplanes followed by 15 Russian aircraft entered the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff told Reuters.
South Korean air force fighters were dispatched to take tactical measures in response.
The Chinese military had reportedly told South Korea that it would be carrying out routine training prior to entering the airspace, but the Joint Chiefs of Staff said it will have to investigate the situation.
“This incident seems to be a joint military drill between China and Russia but requires a further analysis,” the JCS said in a statement.
China and Russia have been contacted and directed to not let this happen again, Reuters reported.
This is not the first incident where Russian and Chinese aircraft appeared to be testing South Korea’s air defenses.
In July 2019, a joint patrol by Russian and Chinese bombers triggered a clash with South Korean fighter planes, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The bomber patrol flew over the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, and other warplanes flew several miles outside South Korean airspace, according to the report.
South Korean pilots fired warning shots and flares in response to the incursion.
The United States has military bases in Japan and South Korea. Its regular drills with the South Korean military are often a cause for conflict with North Korea.
China, meanwhile, is growing increasingly aggressive.
After the July incident, Russia’s Defense Ministry denied violating the airspace and blamed South Korean fighters for engaging in dangerous maneuvers.
“South Korea has previously unsuccessfully tried to interfere with Russia’s flight above the neutral waters of the Sea of Japan,” the ministry said in a statement, according to The Journal.
Later, South Korean officials said Moscow had admitted the mistake and blamed it on a “technical glitch,” BBC reported.
“Moscow said if the aircraft flew according to an initially planned route, this incident would not have occurred,” a spokesman for the presidential Blue House, Yoon Do-han, said.
Russia, however, denied any intrusion even took place, according to the BBC.
Meanwhile, China Defense ministry spokesman Wu Qian defended the exercise and said his country “strictly abided by the relevant regulations of international law and did not enter the airspace of other countries,” the BBC reported.
A researcher at the Sejong Institute said the July flyover served as a warning, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“This is a message to the U.S., Japan, and South Korea: ‘If you strengthen the U.S.-Japan military alliance, we have no choice but to react militarily as well,” Hong Hyun-ik told the newspaper.
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