Korea lodges protest with China, Russia over military jets' KADIZ entry
Russian, top, and Chinese aircrafts enter Korea's air defense identification zone (KADIZ), Dec. 22, 2020. Yonhap
The defense ministry on Wednesday lodged a protest with the defense attaches of China and Russia based in Seoul over the brief entry of their military aircraft into Korea's air defense identification zone (KADIZ) the previous day.
On Tuesday, two Chinese military planes and seven Russian aircraft briefly entered and left the KADIZ above waters east and south of the country, prompting the military to dispatch Air Force fighter jets in preparation for a possible accidental situation.
Lee Kwang-suk, director general of the ministry's international policy bureau, "sternly" protested their aircraft's entry into Korea's air defense zone, according to the ministry.
"Our military will actively respond to aircraft activities from neighboring countries in the KADIZ in compliance with international law," the ministry said in a release.
The aircraft did not violate Korea's airspace, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Russia has denied recognizing the air defense zone drawn up by Korea, claiming it was not grounded in international law. The airspace above Ieodo, a submerged rock south of Jeju Island, where Chinese aircraft entered the previous day, is a point of dispute between Seoul and Beijing with their overlapping air defense zones.