South Korea fires hundreds of warning shots at Russian military plane

Published Jul 23, 2019

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Seoul - South Korean warplanes fired

hundreds of warning shots at a Russian military aircraft that

entered South Korean airspace on Tuesday, defence officials

said, while Russia denied violating any airspace and accused

South Korean pilots of being reckless.

It was the first time a Russian military aircraft had

violated South Korean airspace, an official at the South Korean

Ministry of National Defence said in Seoul.

The incident, which also involved China and Japan, could

complicate relations and raise tension in a region that has for

years been over-shadowed by hostility between the United States

and North Korea.

Two Russian Tu-95 bombers and two Chinese H-6 bombers

entered the Korea Air Defence Identification Zone (KADIZ)

together early on Tuesday, the South Korean defence ministry

said.

A separate Russian A-50 airborne early warning and control

aircraft later twice violated South Korean airspace over Dokdo -

an island that is occupied by South Korea and also claimed by

Japan, which calls it Takeshima - just after 9 a.m. (midnight

GMT Monday), according to the South Korean military.

Russia's defence ministry said two Tu-95 strategic bombers

carried out a planned flight, but denied that they had violated

South Korean airspace and said it did not recognise South

Korea's KADIZ.

There were no warning shots from the South Korean fighters,

the Russian defence ministry said in a statement, which made no

mention of any A-50 aircraft.

The Russian ministry said two South Korean F-16 fighter

planes carried out "unprofessional manoeuvres," crossing the

path of Russian bombers and did not communicate with them.

"It was not for the first time that South Korean pilots

tried unsuccessfully to prevent Russian aircraft from flying

over the neutral waters of the Sea of ​​Japan," the ministry

said.

A South Korean defence ministry spokesman did not directly

address the Russian accusation of reckless behaviour, but said

that South Korea never said the Tu-95 bombers had violated its

airspace.

China's foreign ministry said South Korea's air defence

identification zone was not territorial airspace and all

countries enjoyed freedom of movement in it.

South Korea's top security adviser, Chung Eui-yong, lodged a

strong objection with Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the

Security Council of Russia, asking the council to assess the

incident and take appropriate action, South Korea's presidential

office said.

"We take a very grave view of this situation and, if it is

repeated, we will take even stronger action," Chung said,

according to South Korea's presidential office.

'TACTICAL ACTION'

South Korea's foreign ministry summoned Russian Deputy Chief

of Mission Maxim Volkov and Chinese Ambassador Qiu Guohong to

lodge a stern protest and strongly urge them to prevent a

recurrence, said ministry spokesman Kim In-chul.

Separately, Japan lodged a complaint with both South Korea

and Russia over the incident, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide

Suga said.

"In light of Japan's stance regarding sovereignty over

Takeshima, the South Korean military aircraft's having carried

out warning shots is totally unacceptable and extremely

regrettable," Suga told reporters in Tokyo.

South Korea scrambled F-15 and F-16 fighter jets in response

to the intrusions.

The South Korean jets fired about 360 rounds of ammunition

during the incident, an official at South Korea's Joint Chiefs

of Staff (JCS) said.

"The South Korean military took tactical action including

dropping flares and firing warning shots," the defence ministry

said.

A South Korean defence official told Reuters that the

Russian aircraft did not respond in any threatening way.

The Russian aircraft left South Korean airspace but then

entered it again about 20 minutes later, prompting the South

Koreans to fire more warning shots.

The ministry said South Korean warplanes "conducted a normal

response" to the incursion, without giving further details. 

Reuters

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