A Russian Tu-95 strategic bomber flies alongside a Chinese J-16 fighter jet at an undisclosed location on June 28, 2026. (Japan Joint Staff)
Japan and South Korea lodged complaints through diplomatic channels after more than 10 Chinese and Russian military aircraft flew near the two countries over the weekend.
Two Russian Tu-95 strategic bombers and two Tu-142 maritime patrol aircraft were spotted flying alongside two Chinese H-6 bombers west of the Korean Peninsula between Saturday morning and afternoon, according to a Japan Joint Staff news release that day.
The formation was also temporarily joined by a pair of Chinese J-16 fighter jets and one Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jet.
The aircraft entered and exited the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone over the East Sea, or Sea of Japan, and East China Sea on Saturday, according to a text message to reporters that day by the South Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The air defense identification zone is not considered territorial airspace, but aircraft are expected to identify themselves as they enter as a matter of national security.
“The Chinese and Russian air forces conducted their 11th joint strategic air patrol in the airspace over the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea, and the western Pacific Ocean, demonstrating shared determination and capability to safeguard regional peace and stability,” according to a report Saturday on China Military, an official Chinese news website.
South Korea scrambled an undisclosed number of Air Force fighter jets to conduct tactical response measures, according to the Joint Chiefs’ message.
South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense lodged formal protests with the Chinese and Russian embassies in Seoul on Sunday afternoon, according to a ministry post on Facebook.
After the Chinese aircraft departed toward China and the Russian fighter jet headed north, the Russian bombers and maritime patrol aircraft were joined by another pair of Chinese H-6 bombers and flew “for a long distance” from the East China Sea to the Pacific Ocean east of the island of Shikoku on Saturday afternoon, according to the Joint Staff release. Shikoku is one of the four main islands of Japan.
Four Chinese J-16 fighter jets joined that portion of the fight.
Fighter aircraft from Japan Air Self-Defense Force’s Western Air Defense Force scrambled to meet the aircraft, according to the release.
A Joint Staff spokesman declined to say what types or how many Japanese aircraft were dispatched.
“It is the first time since December that we have confirmed Chinese and Russian joint flights. We will take strict measures against airspace violations,” the spokesman said by phone Monday. The aircraft did not enter Japanese airspace, he said.
Some Japanese government officials may speak to the press only on condition of anonymity.
Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi criticized the incident during a news conference in South Korea, where he was meeting Sunday with his South Korean counterpart, National Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back.
The repeated joint flights by Russia and China “signify an expansion and intensification of their activities in the vicinity of Japan, and we are compelled to view them as a show of force directed at our country,” Koizumi said.
He said Japan and South Korea shared information about the incident in a “timely manner.”
He also stressed the importance of the cooperation between Japan and South Korea and the U.S. as “the regional security environment becomes increasingly severe and complex, “
Stars and Stripes reporter Yoojin Lee contributed to this report.
