Yellow Sea drill leads to brief US–China jet standoff

A brief aerial standoff occurred earlier this week over the Yellow Sea after fighter jets from U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) conducted a rare flight operation that prompted a response from Chinese military aircraft, according to sources cited by Korean media on Friday, February 20.

Several USFK F-16 fighter jets departed from Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, roughly 60 kilometres south of Seoul, late Wednesday and flew over international waters. The aircraft reportedly operated in an area located between the air defence identification zones of South Korea and China. In response, the Chinese military scrambled its own fighter jets, though the encounter ended without any confrontation or incident.

Sources said USFK had notified the South Korean military in advance that an exercise would take place, but did not provide detailed information regarding the drills’ objectives or scope. Neither Seoul’s defence ministry nor USFK released additional operational details afterwards.

“The USFK, alongside our military, maintains a powerful combined defence posture,” a South Korean defence ministry official said, adding that the ministry does not verify specific military activities involving USFK assets.

The episode comes amid growing speculation that Washington may adjust the mission of USFK as part of a broader strategic shift toward countering China while encouraging regional allies to assume greater responsibility for their own security.

Last month’s U.S. National Defence Strategy suggested a potential evolution in American force posture on the Korean Peninsula, stating that South Korea is capable of taking “primary” responsibility for deterring North Korea with “critical, but more limited” US support. The document described the adjustment as consistent with US efforts to modernise and update its regional military deployment.

USFK Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson has also emphasised the need for greater operational flexibility. While presenting a revised map orientation in November last year — placing the east at the top rather than the traditional north-up format — Brunson argued that forces stationed on the peninsula should be viewed as forward-positioned assets rather than distant reinforcements.

“Forces already positioned on the Korean Peninsula are revealed not as distant assets requiring reinforcement, but as troops already positioned inside the bubble perimeter that the U.S. would need to penetrate in the event of crisis or contingency,” he said.