South Korea, Japan Scramble Jets As China And Russia Fly Joint Bomber Patrol

South Korea and Japan reacted angrily on Wednesday after Chinese and Russian military aircraft carried out joint aerial patrols near their territories, forcing both countries to deploy fighter jets in response.

Seoul confirmed that it had formally protested to diplomatic representatives of both China and Russia, while Tokyo said it had lodged “serious national security concerns” with the two governments.

According to Japanese authorities, two Russian Tu-95 nuclear-capable bombers flew from the Sea of Japan on Tuesday to meet two Chinese H-6 bombers over the East China Sea before conducting a coordinated flight around Japanese airspace.

The development comes amid rising tensions between Japan and China following recent remarks by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi concerning Taiwan.

Japan’s Defence Minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, described the joint bomber patrol as “a clear show of force” directed at Japan. Government spokesman Minoru Kihara also said Tokyo had conveyed its deep security concerns to both Beijing and Moscow through diplomatic channels.

South Korea confirmed that the Russian and Chinese aircraft entered its Air Defence Identification Zone (KADIZ), prompting the deployment of fighter jets as a precaution. Seoul said a formal complaint had been submitted through defence attaches based in the capital.

“Our military will continue to respond actively to the activities of neighbouring countries’ aircraft within the KADIZ in accordance with international law,” said Lee Kwang-suk, South Korea’s defence ministry official.

Japanese fighter jets were also scrambled to intercept the aircraft, which were detected before crossing into the air defence zone a wider monitoring area that does not constitute sovereign airspace.

China later confirmed that the drill was organised under its annual military cooperation programme with Russia, while Moscow described the patrol as a routine eight-hour exercise, adding that foreign fighter jets had followed the joint formation.

Since 2019, Chinese and Russian warplanes have repeatedly entered South Korea’s air defence zone without advance notice under the guise of joint exercises. Similar incidents were recorded in 2022, 2023 and late 2024.

Meanwhile, Japan also revealed earlier this week that it had scrambled jets again following repeated takeoff and landing drills by Chinese fighter jets and military helicopters from the Liaoning aircraft carrier operating near Japanese waters.

Japan further summoned China’s ambassador after Chinese military aircraft reportedly locked radar systems onto Japanese jets, the latest flashpoint in the diplomatic row sparked by Takaichi’s recent statement suggesting Japan would intervene militarily if China attacked Taiwan.