South Korea scrambles jets as Chinese, Russian warplanes approach

SEOUL, Nov 29 (AFP): South Korea's military said Friday it scrambled fighter jets as five Chinese and six Russian military planes flew through its air defence zone, an area wider than the country's airspace.

Five Chinese and six Russian military aircraft entered and exited the Korea Air Defence Identification Zone in the East Sea and South Sea from 9:35 am (0035 GMT) to 1:53 pm, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

But the planes crossed into the KADIZ "without violating South Korean airspace", the JCS said, adding that the military "identified the aircraft before they entered KADIZ and deployed Air Force fighter jets to take tactical measures in preparation for any contingencies".

An air defence identification zone is a broader area than a country's airspace in which it tries to control aircraft for security reasons, but the concept is not defined in any international treaty.

China's defence ministry called the flights "their ninth joint strategic patrol", which occurred above the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea in South Korea.

It added in a post on its official social media account that the flights were held Friday "according to the annual cooperation plan between the Chinese and Russian militaries".

South Korean military officials told local media that Chinese military aircraft flew towards the small Dokdo islands off South Korea's eastern coast, after passing between the Korean peninsula and Japan near the contested submerged rock of Ieodo.

Russian planes also flew south towards the Dokdo islets, known as Takeshima in Japanese.

Officials said the Chinese and Russian aircraft flew together over the sea south of Dokdo before departing.