Why Russia and China are wading into a centuries’ old dispute over a tiny island cluster

CNN
South Korea Russia China Military Incident CNN | James Alexander Michie

It is no secret to anyone that for some time there has been a dispute between Japan and South Korea because they cannot agree on who owns a group of small rocky islands off the coast, however, is what they do agree that Russian bombers should not fly above them.

Now, it should be noted that the Dokdo Islands in South Korea and the Takeshima Islands in Japan appeared in the headlines on Tuesday due to an alleged violation of airspace over them by a Russian plane.

Certainly, South Korea has claimed that its fighter jets fired hundreds of warning shots at the Russian A-50 radar and the intelligence plane after officials in Seoul said they entered twice the 12 nautical mile limit that Korea’s South considers its airspace around the islands. Likewise, Japan also stirred fighter jets to intercept Russian and Chinese fighter jets. And, like South Korea, Japan agreed that the Russian A-50 (AWACS) air traffic control and warning aircraft had violated airspace.

End of similarities

In regards to Japan, the islands belong to Japan. Therefore, according to Japanese officials, Russian planes had entered Japanese airspace, and what is more, South Korean fighters had no business in firing aircraft cannons over Japanese territory.

For its part, Moscow has furiously denied the story of the meeting in Seoul, claiming that South Korean military planes recklessly intercepted two of its bombers during a first military exercise with China over neutral waters.

Thus, two long-range Chinese bombers flew with the Russians as part of a joint exercise, which Beijing said complied with international law. In fact, a Russian general denied that all warning shots were fired and said the participation of the A-50 was only to support the mission in general.

Undoubtedly, the islands may be just the wedge that Moscow needs to further divide the most important US security relationship in Asia, and distract Washington from other parts of the world that are currently more important on Russia’s agenda.

Thus, it is understood that such a highly contentious incident occurs when Washington tries to reunite South Korea and Japan, its two closest Asian allies, as partners to reject the rise of Chinese influence in Asia, the Pacific and beyond.

Read more.

Source: Brad Lendon | CNN

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *