Chinese, Russian military aircraft continue to enter KADIZ without prior notice

[Anchor]

Today (Nov. 29), eleven military aircraft from China and Russia entered our air defense identification zone without prior notice again.

Our military responded by dispatching fighter jets.

What the intentions of China and Russia are, reporter Go Eun-hee reports.

[Report]

The South Korean military announced that eleven military aircraft from China and Russia sequentially entered and exited the Korean air defense identification zone, KADIZ, for about four hours starting around 9:35 AM today.

It is reported that five Chinese military aircraft moved from the Ieodo area towards Dokdo, while six Russian military aircraft descended from the northeast towards Dokdo.

Afterwards, it was reported that the Chinese and Russian military aircraft flew together near Dokdo, and the Chinese Ministry of National Defense stated that the two countries conducted a joint strategic patrol in the East Sea airspace.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff stated, "There was no violation of our airspace by the Chinese and Russian military aircraft," and added, "We identified them before they entered KADIZ."

They further stated, "We deployed Air Force fighter jets and implemented tactical measures to prepare for any unexpected situations."

The air defense identification zone is a line established to identify military aircraft approaching the airspace in advance. Unlike airspace, it does not have legal enforceability under international law, but it is international practice to notify the relevant country in advance when military aircraft enter.

Since 2019, China and Russia have been entering KADIZ once or twice a year under the pretext of training, but they hav not been providing prior notice.

In particular, this year, the joint training by China and Russia coincided with the visit of the Russian Defense Minister to North Korea, raising attention to their intentions.

[Yang Wook/Research Fellow, Asan Institute for Policy Studies: "In a way, Russia's visit to North Korea could be seen as being 'escorted' by China. This also implies that China does not oppose military cooperation between North Korea and Russia..."]

The Ministry of National Defense stated that it has sternly protested to the military authorities of China and Russia over the unauthorized entry of military aircraft into KADIZ and urged efforts to prevent recurrence.

KBS News, Go Eun-hee.