A South Korean KF-16 Fighting Falcon launches from an air base in July 2019. (South Korea Air Force)
South Korea lodged a “stern protest” Wednesday with representatives of Russia and China over flights by nine of their military aircraft into the South Korean Air Defense Identification Zone the previous day, according to the country’s Ministry of National Defense.
Lee Kwangsuk, director general of the International Policy Bureau, lodged the protest with the Chinese and Russian military attaches to South Korea, a ministry spokesman said in a text message to reporters Wednesday.
“Our military will actively respond to other foreign aircraft activities in the [Korean Air Defense Identification Zone] in accordance with international law,” the message states.
South Korea scrambled fighters to meet the aircraft from China and Russia that approached over the seas east and south of the country on Tuesday, according to the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Around 10 a.m., seven Russian aircraft followed by two Chinese aircraft entered and exited the air defense identification zone, according to a ministry text message to reporters Tuesday.
The Russian and Chinese aircraft did not enter South Korean airspace, and the aircraft were detected in advance of them entering the identification zone, according to the joint chiefs. The zone is not territorial airspace but a wide swath where incoming flights are expected to identify themselves for security purposes.
South Korean air force fighters took off to meet the incoming Russian and Chinese flights to cover contingencies, according to the joint chiefs.
China’s National Defense Ministry said its military and the Russians made their 10th joint strategic air patrol over the East China Sea and western Pacific Ocean on Tuesday, according to a post on the ministry website.
A video with the post purported to show Chinese fighters, bombers and a surveillance plane taking off Tuesday.
The joint patrol was part of the two countries’ annual cooperation plan, according to the post.
The Russians and Chinese last made a joint patrol on Nov. 29, 2024, when 11 of their aircraft entered and exited the zone.
On March 20, Russian military aircraft entered the zone several times and came within 12 ½ miles of South Korean territorial air space, according to the South Korean Ministry of National Defense at the time.
The Russian pilots did not provide advance notice of their approach or respond to South Korean communications, according to the ministry.
Russian aircraft entered the zone eight times between March 11 and 20, according to the ministry.
