China and Russia Fly More Than Ten Warplanes Into South Korea's Air Defense Zone

South Korea scrambled fighter jets on Saturday after more than ten Chinese and Russian military aircraft entered its air defense identification zone, The Hindu reported. Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the aircraft entered and then left the zone over the waters to the country's east and south, and that the military tracked them before they arrived.

The Korea Times and CBS News noted that the aircraft did not violate South Korean airspace. An air defense identification zone is not sovereign territory but a buffer area in which a country asks approaching aircraft to identify themselves. The flight resembled a similar joint incursion in December 2025, after which Seoul lodged protests with Beijing and Moscow.

Such coordinated patrols have become a recurring feature of China-Russia military cooperation, and they force South Korea and Japan to maintain a higher state of readiness.