Warplanes from four countries have faced off in a chaotic and unprecedented confrontation above a small, disputed island off the coast of South Korea and Japan.
South Korea says it fired more than 300 warning shots at a Russian A‑50 command and control military aircraft after it had twice violated the country's airspace.
CNN reports Russia has furiously denied South Korea’s account of the encounter, claiming that South Korean military jets had dangerously intercepted two of its bombers during a planned flight over neutral waters.
Japan's Ministry of Defence has backed up South Korea's claims, saying the Russia jet had flown over the islands and that Tokyo had scrambled fighters to intercept.
In a further complication, both South Korea and Japan said that two Chinese H‑6 bombers had joined the Russian military aircraft on sorties through the region as well.
The confrontation took place over disputed islands in the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The two, small islands, known to the Koreans as Dokdo and to the Japanese as Takeshima are claimed by both countries.
CNN
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