China and Russia: "Entry into KADIZ is Part of Training... No Airspace Violation"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Onyu] China and Russia claimed that their entry into the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ) was part of joint aerial exercises and that they did not enter the airspace of other countries.

According to Huanqiu.com on the 22nd, the defense ministries of China and Russia announced in a joint statement that their air forces conducted the second joint air strategic exercise in the Asia-Pacific region. In this exercise, China deployed four Hong (H)-6 bombers, and Russia deployed two Tu-95 bombers to conduct joint training over the airspace of the East Sea and the East China Sea.

The defense ministries of China and Russia explained, "During the flight, the military aircraft of both countries strictly complied with international law regulations and did not enter the airspace of other countries."

The two defense ministries stated, "This exercise between China and Russia aims to enhance the level of strategic cooperation and joint operational capabilities of the two militaries and is intended for global strategic stability. It is a project included in the annual cooperation plan between the two militaries and is not targeted at any third party."

In this regard, the Republic of Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff reported that four Chinese military aircraft and fifteen Russian military aircraft entered and then exited the KADIZ on the 22nd, and confirmed that there was no violation of airspace by these military aircraft.

The Air Defense Identification Zone is an arbitrary boundary set to identify and respond early to military aircraft approaching a country's airspace. It is a different concept from "airspace," which consists of the airspace above a country's territory and territorial waters.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Korea expressed regret to China and Russia for sending military aircraft into the KADIZ on the same day and urged them to prevent recurrence.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.