2 Chinese, 7 Russian jets enter South Korean air defence zone near Japan
Chinese defence ministry cites annual joint strategic patrol with Russia, hours after South Korea says aircraft did not violate airspace
Military aircraft from China and Russia entered South Korea’s air defence zone without notification on Tuesday, prompting the deployment of fighter jets, the Korean military said.
Hours later, the Chinese defence ministry said China and Russia had carried out their 10th joint strategic patrol in the airspace above the East China Sea and western Pacific on Tuesday.
The ministry did not provide details but said the exercise took place under the annual defence cooperation plan of the two militaries.
According to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, seven Russian and two Chinese military aircraft sequentially entered and then departed the Korean Air Defence Identification Zone (KADIZ) over the Sea of Japan, or the East Sea, and the East China Sea.
“There was no violation of our airspace,” it said in a statement on the Tuesday morning manoeuvres.