China and Russia conducted a joint military air patrol over the Sea of Japan and East China Sea on Tuesday, Chinese state media said. "The two militaries conducted their sixth joint air patrol, in accordance with the annual plan for military cooperation between China and Russia," the Xinhua news agency quoted China's Defense Ministry as saying.
The statement gives no further details on the nature of the aircraft engaged, their trajectory or their location within these large maritime spaces located between the Korean peninsula, Japan, China and the island of Taiwan. This is the sixth joint Sino-Russian air patrol in the area since 2019.
"In anticipation of an emergency"
South Korea's military said it had taken off fighter jets after four Russian and four Chinese aircraft entered its Air Defense Identification Zone (Adiz) around noon Tuesday. "We have deployed Air Force fighters to take tactical measures in anticipation of an emergency situation," the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. He stressed that Russian and Chinese planes did not violate South Korean airspace.
An Adiz is a large area unilaterally defined by countries and in which they require foreign aircraft to identify themselves for reasons of national security. They cover an area much larger than "airspace" (the area above the territory and territorial waters of a State). There is no international treaty that clearly defines an Adiz.
