China notifies Korea before entering KADIZ
A Chinese warplane entered the Korean Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ) after the country notified South Korean authorities via a bilateral military hotline of its route and purpose of flight, Tuesday, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). South Korea and China have been operating the hotline covering northern China and the Korean Peninsula through a joint Master Control and Reporting Center (MCRC) since 2015.
An Air Defense Identification Zone, or ADIZ, is set to track unidentified aircraft entering the airspace over land or sea near a country for its national security interest. To avoid aviation accidents, South Korea, China and Japan have set their own ADIZs.
China’s notification came after the South Korean JCS detected the plane approaching from China and asked the Chinese side to identify it through the hotline.
It was the first time this year for the Chinese side to identify a warplane prior to its entry in the KADIZ, officials at the JCS noted, though there have been other cases where China notified South Korea of its planes’ entries to KADIZ after the fact.
“The Chinese airplane has been identified as a (Shaanxi) Y-9,” a JCS official told reporters. “It had entered the KADIZ off the west coast of Jeju Island at 08:57 and left the area toward the eastern part of Socotra Rock at 09:31 to enter JADIZ (Japan’s ADIZ). It then entered the KADIZ again at 12:25 to return by the same course and left the KADIZ at 13:08.”
The Chinese airplane stayed in the KADIZ for about 77 minutes in total.
China and South Korea held an annual vice-ministerial-level meeting in Beijing, Oct. 21. The two sides discussed the issue of setting up a second military hotline that would cover eastern China.
South Korea also held a joint military committee meeting with Russia in Seoul from Oct. 23 to 24, to establish their own military hotline. This followed six Russian warplanes’ entry into KADIZ on Oct. 22. South Korea lodged a protest with the Russian side but the Russian authorities said it was a normal training exercise in compliance with international law.
An airspace violation by a Russian warplane on July 23 has become a diplomatic issue between South Korea and Russia, prompting the two countries to accelerate the progress of signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish the military hotline.
The specific date for the signing has yet to be decided.