CHINESE & RUSSIAN AIRCRAFT ENTERS KADIZ

[Anchor Lead]

Four Chinese and 15 Russian military aircraft have entered the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone, also known as KADIZ. They did not invade Korean territorial airspace, but it is unusual that military airplanes from two different countries entered KADIZ at the same time.

[Pkg]

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff reported that Chinese and Russian military aircraft entered the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone, also known as KADIZ, on Tuesday. Four Chinese warplanes entered KADIZ from the west of Ieodo Island just after 8 A.M. and two of them left after flying over the eastern part of Ulleungdo Island. Fifteen Russian warplanes, including bombers and A-50 early warning and control aircraft, also entered KADIZ from the north. Two planes kept flying in and out of KADIZ over the eastern Dokdo Islets. The incident ended around 3:20 P.M., seven hours after it first began. The South Korean Air Force deployed two fighter jets even before the foreign military aircraft entered KADIZ to get ready for possible contingencies. KADIZ is airspace arbitrarily defined to prevent and respond to the invasion of official airspace. An air defense identification zone is, therefore, different from territorial airspace. The JCS reported that the Chinese and Russian planes did not invade South Korean territorial airspace. Over the years, Chinese and Russian military aircraft had violated KADIZ from time to time. But Tuesday's incident was unsual because the jets entered KADIZ simultaneously for the first time in 17 months. The JCS concluded that the two countries were conducting a joint exercise. Experts believe the incident took place to coincide with the transition of power in the United States.

[Soundbite] PARK WON-GON(PROF., HANDONG GLOBAL UNIV.) : "They seemed to have kept the U.S. in check during the political transition, because the trilateral security alliance among South Korea, Japan and the United States is likely to strengthen once the Biden administration is launched."

When asked about the presence of military aircraft over South Korean territory, China purportedly answered that they were carrying out a standard military exercise. Seoul's foreign ministry expressed regret over the two countries' actions and urged for such an incident to not happen again.