--- title: "Joint Chinese-Russian Bomber Patrol Sends Japanese, South Korean Fighters Scrambling" date: "2025-12-09" modified: "2025-12-09" authors: - name: "Howard Altman" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://www.twz.com/authors/howard-altman.md" url: "https://www.twz.com/air/joint-chinese-russian-bomber-patrol-sends-japanese-south-korean-fighters-scrambling" categories: - "Air" - "Air Forces" - "Around The Globe" - "Bombers" - "Carriers" - "Fighters" - "H-6 Bomber" - "Indo-Pacific" - "Japan" - "Japan Air Self Defense Force" - "News & Features" - "People's Liberation Army Air Force (China)" - "Republic Of China Air Force (Taiwan)" - "Sea" - "South Korea" - "Tu-95" --- # Joint Chinese-Russian Bomber Patrol Sends Japanese, South Korean Fighters Scrambling ![Japan and South Korea scrambled jets to respond to a joint Russian-Chinese bomber patrol.]() *(Chinese government)* Japan and South Korea scrambled jets on Tuesday in response to a joint Chinese-Russian bomber patrol over international waters near both of those nations. Though part of [an annual bilateral exercise](), the flights come as tensions between China and Japan are heightened over the latter’s [increasing signals of support for Taiwan](). Two Russian [Tu-95 Bear turboprop bombers]() flew south from the Sea of Japan into the East China Sea, the [Japanese Defense Ministry (MoD) said](). After flying between west of Japan and southeast of South Korea, they joined two Chinese [H-6 series bombers]() near Okinawa Japan. ![]() *Japanese Defense Ministry* “They then conducted a long-distance joint flight from the East China Sea to the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Shikoku,” according to the ministry. The bombers were joined by four Chinese [J-16 Flanker]() multirole fighter derivatives “when these bombers flew back and forth between Okinawa Island and Miyako Island,” the Japanese MoD noted. The Bear bombers later flew back along the same route north into the Sea of Japan while the Chinese jets flew back toward China. ![Australia is pushing back on a report that Russia asked to base its long-range bombers at an Indonesian airbase.]() *A Russian Tu-95M Bear turboprop bomber. (Crown Copyright) *Crown Copyright** ![CHANGCHUN, CHINA - SEPTEMBER 16: H-6 bomber attends a flight rehearsal ahead of the 2025 Changchun Air Show on September 16, 2025 in Changchun, Jilin Province of China. The aviation open-day activities of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) and the Changchun Air Show 2025 will be held from September 19 to 23 in Changchun. (Photo by Cao Nan/VCG via Getty Images)]() *A Chinese H-6 bomber attends a flight rehearsal ahead of the 2025 Changchun Air Show on September 16, 2025 in Changchun, Jilin Province of China. (Photo by Cao Nan/VCG via Getty Images) VCG* ![CHANGCHUN, CHINA - SEPTEMBER 19: J-16 fighter jets perform maneuver flight demonstration during flight performance at the aviation open-day activities of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) and the Changchun Air Show 2025 on September 19, 2025 in Changchun, Jilin Province of China. The event will be held from September 19 to 23 in Changchun. (Photo by Zhang Xiangyi/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)]() *Chinese J-16 fighter jets perform a maneuver flight demonstration during flight performance at the aviation open-day activities of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) and the Changchun Air Show 2025 on September 19, 2025 in Changchun, Jilin Province of China. (Photo by Zhang Xiangyi/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images) 李旭伦* In addition to those flights, the Japanese said one Russian [A-50 Mainstay]() early warning and control aircraft and two Russian[ Su-30 Flanker]() fighters were also spotted north of Japan in the Sea of Japan, the MoD stated. “In response, fighter jets from the Japan Air Self-Defense Force's Southwest Air Defense Command and other units were scrambled,” the MoD explained, without providing details about where jets flew. ![The Beriev A-50U 'Mainstay' airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft based on the Ilyushin Il-76 transport aircraft belonging to Russian Air Force in the air. 'U' designation stands for extended range and advanced digital radio systems. This aircraft was named after Sergey Atayants - Beriev's chief designer. (Photo by: aviation-images.com/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)]() *The Beriev A-50U 'Mainstay' airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft. (Photo by: aviation-images.com/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) aviation-images.com* South Korea also sent fighters aloft as the Chinese-Russian joint flight briefly flew into its Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ), [according to the *Yonhap News Agency*](). “Two Chinese military planes and seven Russian aircraft successively entered the KADIZ at around 10 a.m. prompting the military to dispatch Air Force fighter jets in preparation for a possible accidental situation,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. The JCS did not identify what kind of aircraft took part in the joint Chinese-Russian flight, but bombers and fighters “intermittently entered and left the KADIZ for about an hour before completely retreating from the air defense zone.” https://twitter.com/type36512/status/1998354608973132185?s=46 Joint Chinese-Russian flights in this area are not new. [Since 2019,]() the two countries have sent their military planes into the KADIZ once or twice a year during joint exercises, without prior notice, *Yonhap* explained. The last such flight took place in November 2024 when “11 military planes from both China and Russia entered the KADIZ together,” *Yonhap* noted. [As we previously reported](), the first such flight took place in June 2019 and resulted in South Korean jets firing about 360 20mm cannon shells in a series of warning shots after a Russian Mainstay violated airspace South Korea claims above[ a small group of islets](), which it refers to as Dokdo. Japan also claims these as its national territory, calling them collectively Takeshima, and registered its own complaint at the time that the Mainstay had violated Japanese national airspace. While this was the 10th joint flight, it came as China and Japan are locked in an intensifying dispute over [Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's comments ]()that any Chinese attack on Taiwan would be considered an existential threat to Tokyo. Beijing considers the breakaway island nation to be part of China and has made it clear that it will take back Taiwan peacefully or through military means. Meanwhile, it sees growing militancy from Japan, whose armed forces are designed for self-protection in the wake of World War II, as an increasing threat. The flareup manifested itself on Saturday, when [Chinese J-15 fighters]() launched from the aircraft carrier [*Liaoning*]() near Okinawa and locked radar on two Japanese F-15 Eagle fighters. While both sides acknowledge the incident took place, there is a dispute about who caused it and how it was handled. ![]() *A Japanese Air Self-Defense Force F-15 Eagle. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Brooke P. Beers) A Japanese Air Self-Defense Force F-15J flies alongside a U.S. Air Force KC-135 while waiting to be refueled over Okinawa. *U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Brooke P. Beers** Japan [claims its fighters were targeted ]()while flying a safe distance from the *Liaoning* and its escorts, which were conducting training missions in the area. China claims that the Japanese fighters[ were interfering with the training](), which sparked the incident. [The issue carried into Tuesday](), when China released what it says was a call between its carrier group and the Japanese warning them away. Japan had previously complained China did not answer a deconfliction hotline. ![Chinese Navy Ship (CNS) Type 001 aircraft carrier Liaoning departs from Hong Kong waters on Tuesday morning July 11, 2017. 11JUL17 SCMP / Roy Issa (Photo by Roy Issa/South China Morning Post via Getty Images)]() *Chinese Navy Ship (CNS) Type 001 aircraft carrier *Liaoning*. (Photo by Roy Issa/South China Morning Post via Getty Images) Roy Issa* All this comes amid growing Chinese consternation about[ Japan’s plans to place additional weaponry ]()on Yonaguni Island, located about 70 miles from Taiwan. ![]() *Japan is increasing its military presence on Yonaguni Island, located 70 miles east of Taiwan. Google Earth* Last week, the Japanese MoD announced plans “to deploy an electronic warfare \[EW\] air-defense unit capable of disrupting aircraft communications on the island of Yonaguni in Okinawa prefecture,” [the Japanese *Nikkei* news outlet reported](). The publication did not identify what type of EW system. In November, we noted that Japan wanted to install an air defense system on Yonaguni that was likely the beginning of an increasing militarization of the island given its proximity to Taiwan. You can read more about that in our initial story [here](). These flights are part of an increasing level of military cooperation between China and Russia. Last year, two Chinese H-6-series aircraft flew with a pair of Russian Bear bombers through[ a portion of the Air Defense Identification Zone ]()(ADIZ) around Alaska. It marked the first time [Chinese H-6s]() of any kind have operated in this part of the world.[ Similar maritime flotillas have occurred]() at an increasing rate, as well. While the joint Chinese-Russian bomber patrol near Japan and South Korea has become routine and is planned to continue, the growing tensions between Beijing and Tokyo show no signs of abating. *Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com* ## Author Howard is a Senior Staff Writer for *TWZ*. He writes frequently about conflict, focusing heavily on the Middle East and Ukraine, and interviews with military and intelligence officials and industry leaders from around the globe. He lives near Tampa, Florida, home of U.S. Central Command, U.S. Special Operations Command. ### Author social links [Twitter]() [LinkedIn]()