China syndromeEast Asia tensions on the rise as China plans more unilateral moves
The Obama administration has advised American commercial airlines to comply with China’s demand to be notified in advance of all aircraft passing through China’s newly – and unilaterally — defined Air Defense Identification Zone(ADIZ). In contrast, Japan’s government has notified its commercial airlines to proceed with business as usual. Regional tensions are on the rise as China has said it expects to set up other ADIZs within the region.
The Obama administration has advised American commercial airlines to comply with China’s demand to be notified in advance of all aircraft passing through China’s newly – and unilaterally — defined Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).Last Friday’s White House decision came hours after China reported that it had scrambled fighter jets within the ADIZ.
“The U.S. government generally expects that U.S. carriers operating internationally will operate consistent with” notice requirements “issued by foreign countries,” the State Department said in a statement. The expectation “does not indicate U.S. government acceptance of China’s requirements.”
The U.S. military continues to operate within the ADIZ in defiance of China’s declaration.
The New York Times reports that three regional powers — Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan — have not recognized China’s claim to the airspace. Experts say China’s claim of jurisdiction is set up to reinforce its claim to the Diaoyou / Senkaku islands, currently administered by Japan.
In contrast to the Obama administration, Japan’s government has notified its commercial airlines to proceed with business as usual. The Times reports that on Saturday, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said, “We will not comment on what other countries are doing with regard to filing flight plans.”
Stephen Yates, a former Asia adviser to former Vice President Dick Cheney, said the White House’s announcement was “a bad move” which would undercut allies in the region who have adopted a different position on China’s demand and claim to the airspace.
Peter Dutton, director of the China Maritime Studies Institute at the U.S. Naval War College, told theTimes that the air zone declaration gives way for China legally to intercept American surveillance flights in international airspace. “It is clear that the Chinese do not seek regional stability on any level,” he said. “They intend to be disruptive in order to remake the Asian regional system in accordance with their preferences.”
China’s new claim has drawn the United States further into the rising regional tensions between China and Japan. The United States is bound by the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security to defend Japan should a military confrontation occur between Japan and any other nation.
If left unchallenged, China’s declaration to the airspace could make way for other declarations and claims to territory within the region. The Obama administration has decided to proceed with routine military training and surveillance flights to undermine the legitimacy of China’s claims over the airspace and to restrict China from expanding its claims to other airspaces in the region. China has said it expects to set up other ADIZs within the region. “We don’t want this to be the first in what would be a series of assertive moves,” an administration official told theTimes “The whole area’s fraught.”