Text/Jun Jian
On the 14th, according to Beiqing.com, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to the statement that "Chinese and Russian military aircraft entered the South Korean air defense identification zone" on the same day. According to what has been learned, the Chinese military aircraft is carrying out routine flights in international waters, which is in line with international law.
(Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning)
South Korean media previously claimed that 6 Chinese and Russian military planes flew into the Sea of Japan on the same day, "entering" from the northern direction of Ulleungdo, and "exiting" from Dokdo to the east, during which they operated in the area of the South Korean Defense Zone (KADIZ), of which 2 military planes were Chinese and 4 were Russian. As for what kind of military aircraft, the South Korean side did not explain, but the South Korean media mentioned China's "H series" and Russia's "TU" series, which seems to imply that China may have dispatched H-6K bombers, and Russia may be Tu-95 bombers.
(Map of Ulleungdo and Dokdo, which is called "Takeshima" in Japan)
As for the time of the so-called "unauthorized entry into the zone", the Korean media claimed that it was about 11:53 p.m. to 12:10 p.m. The South Korean side shouted about this and sent fighter planes to "take tactical measures." After the incident, the South Korean side called the Chinese side to protest without prior notice, accusing the Chinese military plane of "entering the country without authorization." Of course, because there is no Russian phone, South Korea cannot protest to Russia.
(Data map: U.S. and South Korea Air Force Operations)
Moreover, although the South Korean side keeps mentioning "entry", the South Korean media also admit that the purpose of demarcating the defense zone is to deal with military aircraft approaching the airspace in a timely manner, rather than the real airspace. South Korean media claimed that military aircraft entering the zone need to be notified in advance, and accused that since 2019, Chinese and Russian military planes have "entered the zone without authorization" 1 or 2 times a year.
(Sino-Russian joint cruise)
What the South Korean media are referring to should actually be the routine joint strategic patrols in the air that China and Russia have regularly carried out in recent years, and in June this year, the Ministry of Defense just confirmed that China and Russia have carried out the sixth such patrol activities. Under normal circumstances, the Chinese side will dispatch H-6K bombers, while the Russian side will dispatch Tu-95 bombers. The Chinese and Russian cruises are routine activities, and they also strictly abide by international law and will not enter anyone's airspace. But South Korea tends to shout and even make some "tactical responses". On that occasion in 2019, South Korea even accused the Russian A-50 AWACS aircraft of entering the "airspace of Dokdo" and dispatched F-15K and F-16K fighters to intercept it. At that time, South Korean warplanes fired 360 "warning shells" and another 20 signal flares. This incident caused dissatisfaction on the Russian side, which also protested to the South Korean side at that time, and the two sides later held negotiations.
(In 2019, the South Korean side also accused Chinese and Russian military planes of entering its defense zone, when South Korean fighters also fired at Russian military planes)
This time, South Korea is relatively low-key, and the South Korean military only claims that Chinese and Russian military planes have entered its defense zone, but stresses that South Korea's airspace has not been "invaded".
However, according to what the South Korean side said, Chinese and Russian military planes flew from the northern direction of Ulleungdo to the eastern direction of Dokdo, then the group of planes seems to have flown from the northwest direction, and combined with the map legend, it cannot be ruled out that the Chinese plane group took advantage of Russian airspace, and may even fly from the Russian side to the Sea of Japan after transiting at the Russian military airfield.
(Suspected Russian Tu-95 flew to Zhejiang)
In fact, it is not surprising that with the improvement of Sino-Russian cooperation, in recent years, the Russian Tu-95 has landed at Hangzhou Airport, and China's J-16 has also flown to Vladivostok.
(Chinese military aircraft landed in Vladivostok)
Cooperation between China and Russia is actually a routine activity, and there is no need for South Korea to shout at every turn. Moreover, the South Korean media themselves also mentioned the current situation on the peninsula, as well as the military actions of the United States, Japan and South Korea. South Korea should be clear that if the situation on the peninsula escalates, China and Russia will also need to make necessary responses for their own security. South Korea should reject the US intervention in the peninsula, instead of being a US thug and questioning China and Russia.