S.Korea lodges protest with US Forces Korea over rare US-China jets standoff

South Korea lodged a protest with the US Forces Korea early this week over its rare standoff with Chinese fighter jets during a training aircraft drill over the Yellow Sea, local media reported on Saturday.

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back lodged the complaint in a call with Gen. Xavier Brunson, the commander of the Combined Forces Command and the US Forces Korea, immediately after he received a report of the incident on Wednesday, the Seoul-based Yonhap News reported, citing unnamed military sources.

South Korea's chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Jin young-sung, also lodged a complaint in a call with Gen. Brunson.

US and Chinese fighter jets engaged in a brief standoff over the Yellow Sea on Wednesday during an air exercise of the US Air Force, which involved 10 F-16 fighter jets.

The F-16 jets reportedly flew to an area between the respective air defense identification zones of South Korea and China.

The move prompted the Chinese military to dispatch its own fighter jets to the scene, but no clash occurred.

The US Forces Korea, a subordinate unified command of the US Indo-Pacific Command, had informed Seoul's military of its plan ahead of the training operation but apparently did not elaborate on the details, including the purpose of the drills, according to the South Korean officials.

South Korea is one of the US' oldest and closest allies, hosting around 28,500 American soldiers on the Korean Peninsula under a mutual defense treaty between Washington and Seoul.