Seoul formally protested joint naval drills by China and Russia in the East China Sea that intruded into Korea’s air defense identification zone (Kadiz).
According to the Korean Ministry of National Defense on Tuesday, the training area for the military exercises conducted by Beijing and Moscow partly overlapped with the Korean and Japanese ADIZs.
A no-fly zone declared by China for the joint maritime drill with Russia intruded 230 kilometers (142 miles) northward into the Kadiz and 172 kilometers eastward, according to a Korean military official.
Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said that in a response, Korea stepped up surveillance and reconnaissance activities in the part of its air defense zone area in which China and Russia were conducting military exercises.
At around 8:40 a.m. yesterday, two Russian IL-38 maritime patrol aircraft crossed in Korea’s air defense zone for less than an hour.
In response, Korea scrambled two Air Force F-15K fighter jets and transmitted a radio message warning the planes to retreat. The Russian planes retreated.
Russian aircraft have violated the Kadiz before, and defense officials here did not confirm if these aircraft were a part of the China-Russia naval drills.
koreajoongdaily
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