S.Korea deploys fighter jets in response to Chinese, Russian warplanes
Seoul, Jun 6 (EFE).- South Korea’s air force deployed four fighter jets after Seoul military authorities detected four Chinese and four Russian military planes in South Korea’s air defense identification zone (KADIZ) on Tuesday.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said four Chinese military aircraft and four Russian military aircraft entered the southern and eastern parts of the KADIZ between 11:52 and 1:49 PM on Tuesday.
The jets did not violate South Korea’s air space, the JCS statement added.
“Our military identified the Chinese and Russian planes before their entry into the KADIZ and deployed Air Force fighters to conduct tactical steps in preparation against potential accidental situations,” the JCS statement said.
The news came hours after China’s Defense Ministry reported that Russian and Chinese military aircraft had carried out a joint patrol mission over the seas of Japan (where the KADIZ is located) and eastern China.
The joint patrol, the sixth operation of its kind, is part of an annual cooperation plan linking Beijing and Moscow.
Similar situations have occurred in the past, most recently in late December.
In November, both South Korea and Japan scrambled jets when Chinese bombers entered the KADIZ without notice.
An air defense identification zone (ADIZ) is an area where nations require that foreign aircraft identify themselves. It is typical for military authorities to respond early to aircraft approaching a country’s ADIZ.
It is a standard international practice that military aircraft entering an air defense identification of another nation submit a flight plan to the country in advance and notify the location upon entry, something that did not happen on Tuesday when Russian and Chinese fighter jets entered the KADIZ.efe
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