Tokyo, July 23: The government of Japan on Tuesday lodged a strong objection against Russia and South Korea after Seoul fighter jets launched hundreds of warning shots at an aircraft owned to Moscow military, Kyodo news organization reported, citing government sources.
According to the South Korean defence ministry, both two China’s strategic bombers and two Russian bombers crossed into the Korea Air Defence Identification Zone (KADIZ) on Tuesday.
Both Chinese and Russian warplanes entered South Korea’s airspace over Dokdo, an island occupied by S Korea, as well as, also claimed by Japan calling it Takeshima, according to Reuters.
Kyodo said Tokyo filed a strong protest through diplomatic sources to both Russia and China, stating: We cannot accept these kinds of actions in our territory.”
Chung Eui-yong, South Korea’s national security office chief, filed a strong protest to Russia’s secretary of the security council, Nikolai Patrushev, and asked the Russian council to verify the matter and report appropriate action over it, as per the presidential office’s official statement.
The statement cited Chung as saying, “We take a very grave view of this situation and, if it is repeated, we will take even stronger action.”
However, the Russian ministry of defence on Tuesday denied any wrongdoing and that its strategic bombers had breached Seoul’s airspace, according to Reuters.
It also accused South Korea’s aircraft of carrying out menacing manoeuvres that appeared threatening its plane, according to RIA news agency.
In Seoul, defence ministers had said South Korea’s Air Force had launched hundreds of warning shots at an aircraft owned to the Russian military that had illegally on Tuesday crossed into South Korean airspace.