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.