2 Russian fighter jets approach U.S. aircraft carrier

As Russian fighter jets approached close to a U.S. aircraft carrier in international waters in the east of the Korean Peninsula, Korean and U.S. fighter jets were scrambled to counter them, resulting in a pressing situation.

White House Spokesman Josh Earnest said on Thursday (U.S. time) that as two TU-142 Bear strategic bombers of Russia approached 500 feet in the sky about 1 mile off the U.S. nuclear aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan in international waters in the east of the Korean Peninsula on Tuesday morning, the U.S. scrambled four FA-18 fighter jets immediately. U.S. Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis also confirmed the U.S. sortie into the east of the Korean Peninsula. The TU-142 is Russia’s long-range anti-submarine bomber, and is a more advanced version of the TU-95 strategic bomber.

Earlier, the Korean military said two F-15K fighter jets from the Korean Air Force were scrambled to respond to Russian military aircraft, which entered the Korean Air Defense Identification Zone. Korean and U.S. fighter jets flew near the TU-142 planes (to signal them to return to their country), and TU-142 planes reportedly stayed in the area for about an hour without taking any reaction, before returning. The U.S. government said the encounter was not a dangerous situation that could have resulted in military conflict.

"This was a little bit different than that. These are international waters," said the White House spokesman. “It doesn`t happen frequently but this did occur. Any time there are aircraft that are operating in close proximity to a U.S. Navy ship, particularly an aircraft carrier, we are going to take action to launch and make sure we are tracking it very closely," said Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis.

ddr@donga.com