South Korea, Japan scramble fighter jets after Russia, China hold joint patrol over Pacific 

South Korea and Japan said that they scrambled their air force jets after Russian and Chinese military planes entered the former’s air defence zones as they flew over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea on Tuesday.

This is the sixth time that Russia and China have undertaken patrols near South Korean and Japanese territories since 2019.

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China and Russia conducted joint patrol as part of the two militaries' annual cooperation plan, China's defence ministry said.

Four Chinese and four Russian military planes entered South Korea's air defence identification zone (KADIZ) without notice, Seoul's military said.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said that between 11.52 am and 1.49 pm (local time), the Chinese and Russian aircraft entered the KADIZ and exited it.

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The South Korean military, however, clarified that the Russian and Chinese planes did not violate their airspace before exiting the area.

An air defence zone is an area where countries demand that foreign aircraft identify themselves to prevent accidents.

Unlike a country's airspace — the air above its territory and territorial waters —there are no international rules governing air defence zones.

Growing tensions

It comes after the defence chiefs of South Korea, the United States and Japan highlighted their commitment to strengthening trilateral security cooperation during the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual security conference in Singapore, over the weekend.

In November, China conducted an aerial patrol with Russia, forcing South Korea to deploy its fighter jets. Chinese H-6K bombers and Russian TU-95 bombers and SU-35 fighter jets had entered its Air Defence Identification Zone (KADIZ).

During the May 2022 joint exercise, Chinese and Russian warplanes neared Japan's airspace as Tokyo hosted a Quad summit with the leaders of the United States, India and Australia. The move alarmed Japan despite China saying that its flights were not directed at third parties.

There have been concerns among China’s neighbouring countries and their Western allies over China’s increasing military assertiveness in the South China Sea.

The growing tensions prompted the coast guard of the United States, Japan and the Philippines to hold held their first trilateral naval exercise in the South China Sea last week.

Moreover, a Chinese warship came within 150 yards (137 metres) of a US destroyer while the US and Canadian navies were conducting a joint exercise in the volatile Taiwan Strait over the weekend.

Shortly before that, a video showed a Chinese fighter jet passing in front of a USplane's nose with the cockpit of the RC-135 shaking due to the turbulence caused by the flight.

(With inputs from agencies)

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