Chinese, Russian military aircraft enter South Korea’s air defence zone

Seoul's military has announced that five Chinese and six Russian military aircraft entered South Korea's air defence identification zone (KADIZ) over the eastern and southern coastal waters without prior notification. 

This action prompted South Korea to deploy its fighter jets in response. The planes entered the KADIZ in succession between 9:35 a.m. and 1:53 p.m. (GMT+9) over the East Sea and the southern coast, a Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) official said, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

The official further stated that the aircraft did not breach South Korea's airspace. The air defence identification zone (KADIZ) is not considered territorial airspace; rather, it is established to require foreign aircraft to identify themselves to avoid potential accidental confrontations.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) noted that South Korea's Air Force detected the planes prior to their entry into the KADIZ and responded by deploying fighter jets as part of "tactical" measures.      

This zone, originally established by the US Air Force during the Korean War in 1951, is not part of South Korea's airspace and is not governed by international law. In 2018, Seoul expanded the boundaries of the zone in response to similar actions taken by Beijing regarding its own air defence identification zone.

Earlier, Chinese and Russian military forces conducted a joint air patrol over the Sea of Japan, marking the ninth such patrol since 2019. During the previous patrol in July, over the Bering Sea waters off the coast of Alaska, the two sides deployed two Russian strategic bombers, the Tu-95, and two Chinese H-6 bombers. This marked the first time such a flight had been conducted in this zone.

By Naila Huseynova