Overview
- South Korea said seven Russian and two Chinese aircraft entered its KADIZ on Dec. 9 for about an hour, were detected in advance, and prompted precautionary fighter launches without any airspace violation.
- Seoul lodged a formal protest on Dec. 10 with the Chinese and Russian defense attaches, with defense official Lee Kwang-suk vowing active responses within international law.
- Japan dispatched fighters as its defense ministry tracked two Russian Tu-95 bombers linking up with two Chinese H-6 bombers, escorted by Chinese J-16s, with a Russian A-50 and Su-30s also observed.
- China’s defense ministry and Russia’s military described the mission as a routine, eight-hour operation over the East China Sea and western Pacific, calling it the 10th joint strategic air patrol.
- The patrol followed heightened Japan–China friction after Tokyo reported Chinese carrier-based J-15s locked fire-control radar on JASDF F-15s on Dec. 6, intensifying concerns over operational risks in contested airspace zones.