U.S. Forces Korea(USFK) and Chinese fighter jets engaged in a brief aerial standoff earlier this week after a large-scale U.S. air drill over the Yellow Sea prompted Beijing to scramble its fleet.

Military sources said Friday that about ten USFK F-16 fighter jets took off from Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, on Wednesday and flew over international waters to an area between the air defense identification zones of South Korea and China without entering overlapping airspace.

As U.S. jets approached China’s air defense identification zone, China reportedly dispatched its own fighter jets, leading to a temporary face-off but no clash.

USFK notified the South Korean military in advance of the exercise but did not provide specific details about its purpose or flight plans.

South Korea’s defense ministry declined to confirm details of the situation, saying only that South Korea and the USFK maintain a strong combined defense posture.