Chinese military plane enters KADIZ three times Monday

Chinese military plane enters KADIZ three times Monday. November. 27, 2018 07:31. by Sang-Ho Yun ysh1005@donga.com.
A Chinese military aircraft entered South Korea’s air defense identification zone (KADIZ) without notice three times on Monday, prompting an immediate response from Seoul’s Air Force. The last such intrusion was reported on Oct. 29, and this is the seventh time this year that a Chinese military jet has trespassed the KADIZ.

South Korea’s military authorities said that a Chinese military plane, assumed to be a Y-9 recon aircraft, first entered the KADIZ from northwest of the country’s southern island of Jeju at around 11 a.m., and flew out of the zone toward Ieo Island some 40 minutes later.

The plane reentered the KADIZ two more times from the southeastern city of Pohang at an altitude of 81 kilometers at around 12:43 p.m. It headed to the northeastern side at an altitude of 93 kilometers before finally leaving the zone at 3:53 p.m. The Air Force deployed some 10 fighter jets including F-15K to track the plane and send a warning message. However, the Chinese aircraft ignored the warning and flew in the zone for around two hours. The plane did not invade South Korea’s territorial airspace, according to the authorities.

The South Korean Ministry of National Defense said that it will call in Chinese defense attache stationed in Seoul to lodge a protest against such intrusions and strongly urge Beijing to take measures to prevent a recurrence. “The latest intrusion seems to be aimed at reconnoitering the Korean Peninsula and showing off the country’s long-distance flight capacity,” an official said. An air defense identification zone is not a territorial airspace, but a prior notice is required for foreign planes to enter the zone of a country.