Drills by China air force in Sea of Japan and around Taiwan

BEIJING: China’s air force carried out another round of long-range drills on Monday, flying into the Sea of Japan and prompting South Korean and Japanese jets to scramble, and again around self-ruled Taiwan amid growing tension over China’s assertiveness.

China has in recent months ramped up its long-range air force drills, particularly around Taiwan, claimed by China as its own. The air force said in a statement that fighter and bomber aircraft flew through the Tsushima Strait that separates South Korea from Japan and into international waters in the Sea of Japan.

The Sea of Japan is not Japan’s, and the drills were lawful and reasonable, air force spokesman Shen Jinke said in the statement, describing the exercises as routine and pre-planned.

The Japanese Defence Ministry said in a statement that the aircraft — two SU-30 fighters, two H-6 bombers and one TU-154 reconnaissance plane — had not violated Japan’s airspace.

In Seoul, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said five Chinese military planes were spotted entering the Korean Air Defence Identification Zone, and fighter jets scrambled in response. The Chinese aircraft also flew through Japan’s Air Defence Identification Zone, they said.

“Our fighter planes took normal tactical measures, identifying the models of the Chinese planes and flying aerial surveillance until they left,” the South Korean statement said.

Chinese air force spokesman Shen alluded to the scrambled aircraft, saying they “responded to interference from foreign military aircraft” but were able to achieve the aim of their drill.