Fighter jets down as 11 Russian and Chinese fighter jets fly over South Korea’s air defenses

South Korea’s military said on Friday it had shot down warplanes as five Chinese and six Russian warplanes flew over its air defense zone, an area wider than the country’s airspace.

Five Chinese and six Russian military aircraft entered and exited the Korean Air Defense Identification Zone in the East Sea and South Sea from 9:35 am (0035 GMT) to 1:53 pm, the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said in a statement.

But the planes landed in KADIZ “without violating South Korean airspace”, the JCS said, adding that the military “identified the plane before it entered KADIZ and sent Air Force planes to take measures to prepare for any situations.”

An air defense zone is an area wider than the territory of a country where it tries to control aircraft for security reasons, but the concept is not defined in any international agreement.

China’s Ministry of Defense called the flights “the ninth joint strategic surveillance,” which took place over the Sea of ​​Japan, also known as the East Sea in South Korea.

It added in a post on its official social media account that the flights took place on Friday “according to the annual cooperation program between Chinese and Russian military.”

South Korean military officials told reporters that Chinese military aircraft flew to the small Dokdo Islands off South Korea’s east coast, after passing between the Korean peninsula and Japan near the Ieodo underwater rock.

Russian planes also flew south towards the Dokdo Islands, known as Takeshima in Japanese.

Officials say the Chinese and Russian planes flew together over the sea south of Dokdo before taking off.

Since 2019, China and Russia have been flying military aircraft into South Korea’s air defense zone without prior notice, citing joint exercises.

Similar incidents occurred in June and December last year, and in May and November 2022, when Beijing and Moscow described the flights as “joint air patrol strategies.”

South Korea’s Defense Ministry on Friday “expressed regret” to China and Russia for their military aircraft entering the South’s air defense zone and “flying for a long time without prior notice,” according to a statement.

The ministry called for “appropriate measures to be taken to prevent it from happening again”, adding that these actions would “unnecessarily increase tension in the region.”

China and Russia have increased military and defense ties since Moscow ordered Ukrainian soldiers about three years ago.

Both are traditional allies of North Korea, Seoul’s arch-enemy.

South Korea and the United States have accused nuclear-armed North Korea of ​​sending thousands of soldiers went to Russia fighting in Ukraine and this month Pyongyang confirmed a historic defense pact with Moscow.

The downed South Korean jets mark the latest incident involving Russian and Chinese forces in recent months.

Earlier this month, Italy and Norway combined flights in the background Russian planes were spotted over the Baltic Sea and the coast of Norway.

In September, Japan claimed it fighter jets used flares to warn a Russian reconnaissance plane to leave Japan’s northern airspace.

That same month, the U.S. military moved about 130 troops and rocket launchers to a deserted island in the Aleutian chain in western Alaska amid a recent surge in Russian military aircraft and ships approaching American territory. Eight Russian military aircraft and four naval vessels, including two submarineshave come close to Alaska in recent days as Russia and China have been conducting joint military exercises.

In July, two Russian Tu-95s and two Chinese H-6s entered the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone, NORAD said. The bombers were intercepted by US F-16 and F-35 fighter jets, as well as Canadian CF-18s and other support aircraft, a US defense official confirmed to CBS News.