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USFK conducts exercise, leading to aerial standoff with Chinese fighter jets

Published: 20 Feb. 2026, 12:41

This Nov. 3, 2025, file photo, provided by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, shows a F-16 fighter jet of the U.S. Forces Korea taking off with U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine aboard. [YONHAP]

U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) and Chinese fighter jets were in a brief aerial standoff over the Yellow Sea earlier this week as the U.S. Air Force's rare exercise prompted the Chinese military to scramble its own fighter jets in response, sources said Friday.

Several USFK F-16 fighter jets took off from Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, late Wednesday and flew above international waters in the Yellow Sea, according to the military sources.

The F-16s reportedly flew to an area between the respective air defense identification zones of Korea and China, prompting the Chinese military to dispatch its own fighter jets to the scene, but no clash occurred.

The USFK notified the Korean military of its plan ahead of the exercise, but apparently did not elaborate on the details, including the purpose of the drills, a source said.

When asked about the incident, Seoul's defense ministry said it cannot confirm the details of the exercise but said the Korean military and the USFK maintain a powerful combined defense posture.

The latest drills come amid speculation that Washington will seek to redefine the role of the USFK as it pushes to focus on countering Chinese threats while urging allies to take on greater security burdens.

USFK Commander Gen. Xavier Brunson has also mentioned the need for "flexibility" of the USFK as he introduced a map that puts the east at the top rather than standard north-up mapping.

"Forces already positioned on the Korean Peninsula are revealed not as distant assets requiring reinforcement, but as troops already positioned inside the bubble perimeter that the United States would need to penetrate in the event of crisis or contingency," he said, as he introduced the map on Nov. 17 last year.

Yonhap