South Korea lodged a “stern protest” with the Chinese and Russian defense attachés after a total of nine military aircraft, seven Russian and two Chinese, briefly entered its Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ) on Tuesday, forcing Seoul to scramble fighter jets as a precautionary measure.
While South Korean authorities confirmed the warplanes did not violate sovereign airspace, the incursion into the KADIZ, a unilaterally established buffer zone where foreign planes are expected to identify themselves, prompted immediate diplomatic action.
First Japan, now South Korea. China is provoking a war.
South Korea scrambled fighter jets today after Russian and Chinese military aircraft entered its air-defense identification zone. The planes later left without breaching sovereign airspace, but the move highlights rising… pic.twitter.com/BZFdq7P4w8
— The Great Translation Movement 大翻译运动 (@TGTM_Official) December 10, 2025
The joint flight, which China later confirmed was the “10th joint strategic air patrol” conducted as part of an annual cooperation plan, saw the aircraft enter KADIZ near the disputed waters around Ulleung Island, Dokdo, and Ieodo, a contested submerged rock.
South Korea’s military stressed it will actively respond to such activities in compliance with international law.
However, this action is part of a recurring pattern since 2019, as Russia does not recognize the KADIZ, asserting that the zone’s unilateral establishment creates no legal obligations
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This joint aerial maneuver is viewed by regional security analysts, including those in Japan, which also scrambled jets, as a clear demonstration of strengthening military coordination between Moscow and Beijing, intended to project power and test the readiness of their regional neighbors.
