SKorea, Japan Scramble Jets During China-Russia Joint Air Patrol

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Facts

  • South Korea and Japan reportedly had to scramble their fighter jets on Tuesday after four Chinese and four Russian military aircraft entered the South's air defense identification zone unannounced, although they didn't violate either nations' airspace.1
  • Beijing's defense ministry suggested the operation with Russia — the sixth since 2019 — was part of an annual cooperation plan between the two countries' militaries.2
  • The Japanese Ministry of Defense said two PRC H-6 bombers joined two Russian Tu-95 bombers and flew to the East China Sea. It added that the Ministery believes two PRC fighters also took part.3
  • In addition, the South Korean military's Joint Chiefs of Staff said eight military airplanes — four each from Beijing and Moscow — entered its air defense identification zone the same day.3
  • Hirokazu Matsuno, Japan's chief cabinet secretary, said Wednesday that flights near Japanese airspace are a "serious concern" for national security. The concern was communicated to China and Russia through diplomatic protocols.4
  • The South Korean Defense Ministry said it sent a note of protest to the Chinese and Russian embassies in Seoul over military aircraft flying near "sensitive areas close to our air space." The ministry also asked both countries to take appropriate measures to calm regional tensions.1

Sources: 1Al Jazeera, 2Reuters, 3The Japan Times, and 4France 24.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Nippon. This incident indicates that Sino-Russian military cooperation, which has ramped up in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, poses a serious threat to the rule-based world order, especially, to freedom-loving countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Japan and South Korea must bolster security ties with other regional powers, as well as with the US and NATO, to defend the status quo.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Global Times. China and Russia are strengthening their ties, as evidenced by this lawful joint aerial strategic patrol. Both countries are taking a much-needed step toward promoting peace and stability in the region, while the US is saber-rattling over Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula, and the South China Sea to provoke a Ukraine-like crisis in the region. Western hegemony is undermining stability in the Asia-Pacific.

Predictions