Chinese warplanes recently flew over an overlapping airspace defense identification zone belonging to South Korea and China, an incident South Korean media said was a show of muscle in response to the THAAD deployment. But the People's Liberation Army spokesman clarified on Thursday that it was part of a routine training program.

Colonel Wu Qian, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, takes questions from the press on Aug. 25 in Beijing. [Photo by Chen Boyuan / China.org.cn]

South Korea's Yonhap News Agency said that the fly over prompted Seoul to send warnings and scramble warplanes to escort them.

Colonel Wu Qian, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, clarified at a routine press conference on Aug. 25 that air defense identification zones are not territorial airspace and that Chinese airplanes can legally pass through them, indirectly confirming that the reported fly over did take place.

"Recently, Chinese military aircraft flew to relevant airspace above the Sea of Japan to conduct training. On their way to the training area, they flew though the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone and other international airspace. This training is included in the training program," said Colonel Wu.

However, Seoul's decision to deploy the American THAAD system has met with great opposition from China, mainly because its deployment will disrupt the regional strategic balance in East Asia and compromise China-U.S. and China-ROK strategic mutual trust.

Earlier this month, while on a visit to China, U.S. Army's Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley told his Chinese counterpart Li Zuocheng that China should not feel threatened by the deployment of the THAAD system. Milley said that the THAAD system was merely intended to protect South Korea and U.S. personnel from missile attacks by the DPRK and that its radar's detection range was only a few hundred kilometers, implying that it would not jeopardize China's security.

But Colonel Wu said that Milley's explanation was not convincing. He pointed out that U.S. Navy Vice Admiral James Syring said in South Korea that the THAAD system can be turned from the terminal mode to forward-base mode in a very short time, meaning that its radar detection range can suddenly extend to more than 1,000 kilometers.

"The deployment of the THAAD system by the US in the Republic of Korea is not merely a technical issue, but a strategic one," said Wu. "The deployment of the THAAD system is like opening Pandora's Box in the region, the undesirable consequences of which are not to be underestimated."

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