South Korea, Japan scramble jets due to China-Russia joint air patrol
South Korea's defence ministry has lodged a 'stern' protest with china and Russia, local media reported, after Chinese and Russian military planes entered the country's air defence identification zone unannounced during what China's defence ministry said was a joint patrol exercise.
South Korean fighter jets were scrambled on Tuesday in response to the presence of four Chinese and four Russian military aircraft which did not violate the country's airspace but did enter South Korea's air defence identification zone (KADIZ).
Unlike a country's airspace - the air above its territory and territorial waters - there are no international rules governing air defence zones.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said aircraft were expected to identify their presence when they enter the air defence zone 'so as to prevent accidental clashes'.
South Korea's defence ministry said on Wednesday that it had lodged a protest with the Chinese and Russian embassies in Seoul and expressed regret their military aircraft had flown near 'sensitive areas close to our air space'.
Japan also said it scrambled fighter jets on Tuesday in response to a pair of Russian bomber planes that were joined by two Chinese bombers over the Sea of Japan and flew together as far as the East China Sea, where they were then joined by two Chinese fighter planes.
China's defence ministry said the joint patrol was part of a cooperation plan between Beijing and Moscow and was the sixth such exercise since 2019.
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