Russian long-range air force commander labeled the actions of the South Korean pilots in the sky over Japan as "air rage." They escorted a group of Russian and Chinese bombers because they had allegedly incurred into South Korean airspace. The Defense Ministry revealed the facts. The flight is said to have fully complied with international law.
Boris Maksudov found out who had really created a security threat and why. It was a regular flight of our Tu-95MS bombers and the Chinese pilots.
According to the Defense Ministry, the route was only in the international airspace. When the distance to the South Korean airspace was 15.5 miles, South Korean fighters approached the Russian bombers.
Sergey Kobylash, Russian long-distance air force commander: “During the mission, the air group was escorted by foreign fighters 11 times. South Korean crews showed low professionalism. Dangerously maneuvering over the disputed islands, they crossed the way of the air group, jeopardizing the flight safety. Then, South Korean F-16 shot down heat flares and headed for their territorial waters.”
It was the only incident throughout the 5592-mile flight which took almost 12 hours. The Defense Ministry stresses that the patrolling was regular, and no country bothered as the aircraft flew in the neutral waters. But South Korea considered patrolling an intrusion.
Sergey Kobylash: “If Russian and Chinese aircraft were approaching the South Korean territorial waters, according to the generally accepted rules, the Korean pilots should have radio contacted the Russian crews on the international frequency and warned about a possible airspace violation with the help of special maneuvers and signals. The Russian crews stuck to the set flight regime. The live recording didn't reveal any violations of the South Korean or Japanese airspace.”
South Korea and Japan were both anxious about the maneuvers over the Sea of Japan, sending the notes of protest and making trite statements about the unacceptability of such actions. However, the essence of the allegations was polar opposite. Both sides consider the area to be their territory.
Gu Sun Gyun, South Korean deputy foreign minister: “We've summoned the Consul Ambassador of the Russian embassy without prior notice to express the protest about the Russian aircraft entering the South Korean air defense identification zone.”
Yoshihide Suga, Chief Cabinet Secretary: “We reacted by scrambling the fighters of the Self-Defense Forces. We also expressed the protest to Russia and South Korea through the diplomatic channels, asking to avoid such actions in the future.”
What Japan calls Takeshima, South Korea marks as Tokto. The world calls it the Liancourt Islands. These two small uninhabited and remote rocks have long been disputed by the two countries. Neither Japan nor South Korea recognizes the international border, which our pilots proceed from.
Alexey Maslov, High School of Economics: “Japan still considers these islands its territory. South Korea doesn't agree and believes that these islands belong to South Korea. The issue of the Tokto islands is a political one and unlikely to be solved.”
The Defense Ministry described the actions of the South Korean pilots as low professionalism. F-16 several times crossed the way of the missile-carrying bombers, or just moving across our aircraft. The Russian Air Force denies another South Korean statement which says that there were warning shots at our bombers.
Sergey Kobylash: “If the Russian pilots had faced such a threat, they'd have given an immediate and adequate response. I'd stress that it's not the first time that the South Korean pilots tried to hamper the mission of the long-distance aviation over the neutral waters of the Sea of Japan. The actions of the South Korean crews should be seen as "air rage."
Russian and Chinese diplomats were summoned in Seoul for a talk. The representative of the South Korean foreign ministry even called the actions of the pilots "an intrusion." The Chinese military attache reminded his counterparts of international rules.
Du Nong Y, military attache of the Chinese embassy in South Korea: “The identification area isn't the national airspace yet.”
According to the Russian Air Space, it's not the first South Korean attempt to control international airspace near the disputed islands. Every time it demands an official warning about the flight and its purpose. The position of our Air Space is the same: pilots proceed from the international borders in the international airspace.
