S Korea expresses concern over Chinese bombers entering ADIZ: Reports

The bombers entered Korea's ADIZ during the recent China-Russia joint air patrol carried out in the Asia-Pacific region.

Korea's Yonhap news agency reported this development on Wednesday, citing a source in the South Korean Foreign Ministry.

On Tuesday, the Russian aerospace forces and the Chinese air force conducted a joint air patrol in the Asia-Pacific region that lasted over 10 hours.

Two Russia's Tu-95MS strategic bombers and four China's Xian H-6 strategic bombers participated in the patrol, which the two countries said were conducted in strict compliance with international law.

At some points, the Russian and Chinese aircraft were escorted by Japan's F-15 fighters. Japan said that Russia and China did not inform Tokyo about the patrol in advance.

"During the video-conference, they discussed the matter in terms of how to manage and improve the situation," the ministry's official said, as quoted by the media.

According to the news agency, the ministry later issued a press release stressing that the sides had agreed to further communicate on the mutually sensitive issues and reiterated their commitment to the promotion of high-level negotiations between South Korean and Chinese officials.

"The two vice ministers shared an understanding on the importance of summit- and high-level exchanges for the development of South Korea-China ties, and agreed to further promote high-level exchanges and cooperation in various ways, including face-to-face and non-face-to-face methods," the ministry said in its press release.

In July 2019, Russia and China carried out their first joint air patrol in the Asia-Pacific region with the aim of deepening bilateral relations and strengthening military cooperation between the countries, as well as facilitating global security.
While the patrol must have been carried out in compliance with international law, Japan and South Korea have accused Russia and China of violating their airspace.