South Korea scrambled air force fighter jets on 27 June 2026 after more than ten Chinese and Russian military aircraft entered its Korea Air Defence Identification Zone (KADIZ) over the East Sea and the South Sea. Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff stated that the aircraft—described as bombers and fighters—were detected before entering the zone and that they did not violate South Korean sovereign airspace. The aircraft subsequently left the area, and no incident was reported.

According to the South Korean military, the deployment was a precautionary measure for any contingency. An air defence identification zone is not territorial airspace but a buffer in which states expect foreign military aircraft to identify themselves, though prior notification is not legally required. Seoul has previously lodged formal protests with Beijing and Moscow over similar entries, most recently in December 2025, when nine aircraft entered the KADIZ. Tokyo, which also monitors the zone, expressed “serious concern” over national security at that time.

Beijing’s defence ministry described the flight as the 11th joint strategic air patrol by the Chinese and Russian air forces, conducted over the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea and the western Pacific. The ministry said the operation demonstrated the two militaries’ “determination and capability to jointly uphold regional peace and stability,” without specifically mentioning South Korea or its air defence zone. Moscow did not issue an immediate official comment, but Russian state media reported the patrol as part of an annual cooperation plan, citing the Chinese statement. President Vladimir Putin had reaffirmed days earlier that military and technical cooperation with China is traditional and not linked to political events.

Viewed from Seoul and Tokyo, the repeated entries without prior notification are a source of regional tension. South Korean and Japanese officials have previously characterised such flights as provocative, while Chinese and Russian authorities frame them as routine exercises. Since 2019, the two countries have sent military aircraft into the KADIZ one or two times a year during joint drills, according to South Korean military records. No new formal protest was announced immediately after the latest patrol, but the pattern of operations suggests the joint air patrols will continue as a regular feature of Sino-Russian military coordination.