Fighter jets scramble in response to Chinese, Russian aircraft, Seoul says

Dec. 22 (UPI) -- A fleet of Chinese and Russian aircraft trespassed into South Korea's air defense zone Tuesday, prompting Seoul to scramble fighter jets, South Korea's joint chiefs said.

Four Chinese military aircraft and 15 Russian planes entered the Korean Air Defense Identification Zone, or KADIZ, during what could have been a Chinese-Russian joint exercise, the Donga Ilbo reported Tuesday.

According to Korea's joint chiefs, the Chinese planes flew into the KADIZ from the west, with two out of the four planes passing through an area east of Ulleungdo, a South Korean island.

The four Chinese planes are believed to be H-6 bombers and began appearing at about 8 a.m., Yonhap reported.

The 15 Russian aircraft, a combination of Tu-95 Bear strategic bombers and A-50 airborne early-warning and control aircraft, entered the KADIZ from the north, according to Seoul.

Two Russian planes left the air defense zone from an area east of the South Korea-administered Dokdo, reentering the KADIZ before leaving the zone from a northeastern section.

Seoul said the military scrambled fighter jets in anticipation of the trespassing.

"Our military dispatched the Air Force fighter jets before their KADIZ entry in preparations for accidental situations," the joint chiefs said, according to Yonhap.

China and South Korea maintain an agreement to notify each other before flights begin into their respective air defense zones.

It is unclear whether the Chinese military notified Seoul ahead of exercises. Unidentified South Korean officials told Yonhap Beijing communicated plans for the drills, but the foreign ministry said Tuesday they find the Chinese and Russian exercises "regrettable." Russia and South Korea do not maintain a military hotline.

China and Russia have denied trespassing. Both militaries said aircraft "strictly followed international law and regulations, and did not enter the airspace of other countries," according to South Korean newspaper Asia Business.

Air defense identification zones are areas that cover the airspace surrounding sovereign territory. They may extend beyond national territory to give a government more time to respond to potentially hostile aircraft.