MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Monday, around 10 Chinese military planes, including bombers and an early warning aircraft, entered KADIZ for several hours from 10 a.m. (01:00 GMT) to 3 p.m., prompting South Korea to counter by sending 10 F-15K and KF-16 fighter jets.
"Chinese military planes used to enter KADIZ mainly near Ieodo. It was rare to see Chinese planes intruding on KADIZ in the past," a JCS official said, as quoted by Yonhap news agency.
According to the JCS, the Korean Defense Ministry is looking into the intentions of the intrusion, despite the Chinese authorities stating that the aircraft were carrying out military drills.
Submerged reef Ieodo, controlled by Seoul, lies 149 kilometers (92.5 miles) southwest of South Korea's southernmost island of Marado and 247 kilometers northeast of the nearest Chinese island of Tongdao. Ieodo is home to some South Korean scientific research facilities.
In 2013, South Korea expanded its own KADIZ to cover Ieodo after China included it in its own air defense identification zone that is designed to give a country more time to check unauthorized planes that may pose security problems.
