South Korea accuses Chinese military aircraft of violating ADIZ

"The South Korean military detected an unidentified flight southwest of Ieodo Island. It is likely a Shaanxi Y-8 aircraft, but we are determining whether it is a transport plane or an electronic warfare aircraft,"Yonhapquoted a statement from the South Korean Army General Staff yesterday.

The Chinese plane entered the Korean Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ) at 9:30 a.m. yesterday, before flying to an area near Japan and returning to base at 2:05 p.m. Seoul responded by sending several fighter jets to monitor the plane. Beijing and Tokyo have not commented on the incident.

The air defense identification zone (ADIZ) is considered international airspace, so the Chinese aircraft did not violate South Korean sovereignty. However, foreign aircraft are usually required to declare their itinerary and flight purpose when entering another country's ADIZ.

South Korea has a small research station on Ieodo, a submerged island that China calls Suyan. In 2013, Seoul declared the airspace above Ieodo part of its KADIZ, a decision Beijing said it had no dispute with.

However, tensions between the two countries have been rising recently, related to South Korea's deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system and the North Korean issue. This may be the reason for the recent Chinese aircraft incursions into KADIZ.