US, China Jets Briefly Face Off Near Korea, Yonhap Says
By Soo-hyang Choi
- US and Chinese fighter jets briefly faced off above waters near the Korean Peninsula, marking a rare confrontation in that area between the two superpowers.
- The US planes didn’t enter China’s air defense identification zone, but Beijing scrambled planes as they neared that region, according to the report.
- The confrontation comes as China has stepped up military aggression in the Indo-Pacific and the US signals a reduction in American support to deter North Korea from aggression.
US and Chinese fighter jets briefly faced off above waters near the Korean Peninsula this week, Yonhap News reported, marking a rare confrontation in that area between the two superpowers.
Around 10 US fighter jets on Wednesday departed an airbase in Pyeongtaek for drills above international waters off South Korea’s western coast, the news outlet reported citing military sources it didn’t identify. While the US planes didn’t enter China’s air defense identification zone, Beijing scrambled planes as they neared that region, according to the report.
“The Chinese People’s Liberation Army organized naval and air forces to monitor and effectively respond to the activities throughout the process, in accordance with laws and regulations,” the Chinese state-backed Global Times said Friday, citing sources it did not name.
An air defense identification zone is different from a country’s territorial air space. Instead, it’s an area in which aircraft are expected to identify themselves as they draw nearby.
US Forces Korea, which oversees some 28,500 American troops stationed in South Korea, didn’t immediately provide a comment. China’s Foreign Ministry didn’t reply to a request for comment made outside working hours. South Korea’s Defense Ministry said it could not confirm US military operations.
“US Forces Korea is maintaining a strong combined defense posture with our military,” the South Korean Defense Ministry said in a statement. South Korea’s military wasn’t involved in the latest training or aware of the flight details in advance, Yonhap reported.
It’s unusual for US fighter jets stationed in South Korea to conduct training without Seoul so close to China’s air defense identification zone, according to the report.
China has stepped up military aggression in the Indo-Pacific where Beijing has territorial disputes in the South China Sea and over self-ruled Taiwan. Tensions have flared in recent months between China and Japan, another key US ally in Asia, after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested Tokyo could be legally justified to deploy its military in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
In December, Tokyo accused a Chinese fighter jet of using its weapons-targeting radar on Japanese fighters. Beijing said the Japanese jets were disrupting its air training.
The latest report also comes as the US signals a reduction in American support to deter North Korea from aggression, urging South Korea to take the primary role in countering Pyongyang.
On Thursday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un kicked off a closely watched party congress, the first such event in five years, to lay out his key policy agenda.
Kim has said he would “clarify the next-stage plans for further bolstering the country’s nuclear war deterrent” at the gathering.
Original source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-20/us-china-jets-briefly-face-off-near-south-korea-yonhap-says