July 24, 2019

Andrew Campbell 

Russia and China have maintained quite closer diplomatic and economic ties in recent years and they are trying to develop a military relationship with each other. The first joint air exercise in the Asia Pacific region between Russia and China, involving total 3 Russian and 2 Chinese long-range military aircraft (2 Russian Tu-95 bombers and 2 Chinese H-6 bombers) patrolled a pre-planned route over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea on the morning of July 23.

South Korea claimed that one of those warplanes, a Russian A-50 early warning and control plane, violated its territorial airspace twice over the disputed Dokdo/Takeshima islands, occupied by South Korea but claimed sovereignty by Japan, before leaving the Korea Air Defence Identification Zone (KADIZ).

The alleged incursion prompted both Japan and South Korea to deploy military aircraft in response. In particular, South Korea sent F-15 and F-16 planes to intercept and fired 20 flares and nearly 400 warning shots near the Russian surveillance plane. Japan also scrambled warplanes to intercept Russian and Chinese aircraft.

Spokesman Wu Qian in Defence Ministry of China told reporters about the Russia-China joint air patrol and defended that the two countries were obeyed the related international law strictly and stayed at their own airplace.

Defence Ministry of Russia denied any territorial airspace violation and did not recognize the KADIZ. In addition, Lieutenant-General Sergei Kobylash, commander of the Russian military's long-range air forces, announced that Russia had complained to South Korea about its unprofessional, illegal, and dangerous actions of jets.

Photo:Webshot.