- South Korea and Japan scrambled fighter jets to intercept Russian military planes that they said flew over an island in the Sea of Japan claimed by both of the US allies.
- Chinese bombers also intruded on South Korea’s aerial identification zone on Tuesday, according to the officials.
- On June 20, two Russian aircraft also violated South Korea’s air-defense identification zone at around 3:37 a.m. local time in June.
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South Korea and Japan scrambled fighter jets to intercept Russian military planes that they said flew over an island in the Sea of Japan claimed by both of the US allies, with South Korea firing flares and over 300 warning shots at a Russian warplane.
South Korea’s Defense Ministry said multiple Russian military planes violated its airspace off its east coast. The ministry said South Korea launched F-15K and F-16K fighter jets and that they fired warning shots.
The Russian planes then were joined by Chinese H-6 bombers, according to CNN.
Russia’s Defense Ministry denied that the flights were an intrusion, but Japan’s Defense Ministry said it had scrambled jets to confront the Russian aircrafts, CNN reported.
Reuters reported that Japan regularly intercepts Chinese and Russian aircraft over its airspace, with 999 such interceptions in the year ending March 31.
Chinese military planes also intruded on South Korea's aerial identification zone earlier on Tuesday, according to the officials. The Chinese bombers flew into the zone in the morning before joining with two Russian bombers, South Korea's Yonhap News reported.
News of the Russian aircraft comes one month after Japanese military officials said two Russian Tu-95 strategic bombers violated Japan's airspace.
On June 20, the aircraft violated South Korea's air-defense identification zone at around 3:37 a.m. local time, according to The Korean Herald. The air identification zone allows countries to have an early notification of where and what type of aircraft is approaching.
Read more: US F-22 stealth fighters intercepted 4 Russian bombers testing US air defenses near Alaska
One of the aircraft violated the country's airspace twice in one day, according to Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty. The Japanese military said there were 340 incidents with Russian aircraft last year.
Russia has been accused of frequently coming close to violating the airspace of numerous countries, including the US and UK. In May, US F-22 stealth fighters were scrambled after Russian Tu-95s entered Alaska's air-defense identification zone. After the Russian bombers left the zone, they returned with Russian Su-35 fighter jets, according to the North American Aerospace Defense Command.
