19 Chinese and Russian Military Planes Enter South Korean Air Defense Zone

South Korea scrambled fighter jets on Tuesday as four Chinese warplanes and 15 Russian military aircraft entered its Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ).

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said it appeared to be a “joint military drill between China and Russia” but added the incident “requires a further analysis.”

Reuters quoted South Korean military officials stating a message was received from the Chinese military that its aircraft were conducting a “routine” training mission, but evidently the message was something less than a polite request for permission to enter KADIZ, because the South Korean foreign ministry sent a message to China and Russia telling them not to do it again. Based on various statements from the South Korean government, the presence of the Russian planes seems to have been an unannounced surprise.

According to South Korea’s Yonhap News, the four Chinese planes entered KADIZ first, flying above the Sea of Japan (which South Korea refers to as the “East Sea”). The Russian planes then “flew in from the north.”

“Air defense identification zones are not territorial airspace and are not bound by international law. But a foreign warplane is supposed to make prior notification before approaching them in line with international customs to prevent accidental clashes,” Yonhap noted.

The Korea Herald quoted South Korean military officials who said the Chinese planes flew over Ieodo, “a submerged rock to the south of the peninsula that carries a weather research station and has been the subject of a territorial dispute.” The Russian planes “flew back and forth” into KADIZ before departing to the northeast. None of the Chinese or Russian planes took the more serious step of violating South Korea’s territorial airspace, just the larger identification zone that surrounds it.

Both China and Russia have entered South Korea’s air defense zone with warplanes, including strategic bombers, several times over the past few years. Tuesday’s incident appears to have been relatively sedate compared to previous incidents in which South Korean fighters used “warnings and maneuvers” to warn Russian planes away, or even fired warning shots at them.