China's Air Defense Zone Doesn't Target Specific Country

The United States has provoked the People's Republic of China by flying unannounced over the East Sea region. This action escalates tensions., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

China's air defense zone doesn't target specific country: expert

English.news.cn
2013-11-26 20:04:47
Editor: Yang Yi

Special: China establishes its first air defense ID zone

BEIJING, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- China's newly-established air defense identification zone over the East China Sea does not target a specific country, said a military expert in Beijing on Tuesday.

"Other nations do not need to be alarmed," said Zhang Junshe, an expert with the navy, in an interview with Xinhua.

The establishment of the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone is not related to the situations around the Diaoyu Islands and should not be considered a countermeasure against Japan, Zhang said.

As a necessary measure to protect China's sovereignty and security, as well as a common international practice, the air defense zone is completely out of the need for self-defense, he said.

Neighboring countries around China, such as Japan, the Republic of Korea, The Philippines and Vietnam, have set up their own air defense identification zones before China, according to Zhang.

Since every country has an equal right to protect its sovereignty and security, the principle of "first come, first served" should not be applied on air defense identification zones, said Chai Lidan, an expert with the air force.

When explaining why the zone is located as close as 130 kilometers to some countries, China's Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said on Saturday that from the east end of the zone, which is still close to China, combat aircraft can reach China's airspace within a short time, so it is necessary for China to identify an aircraft from that point to ascertain its purpose and attributes.

Chai told Xinhua that, for two close neighbors like China and Japan, it is inevitable that their air defense zones will overlap.

The air defense identification zone, which is demarcated outside the territorial airspace, is not exclusive, so an overlapping area is allowed, Chai said.

In the overlapping areas, the two countries should communicate well with each other and jointly protect flight security, he said.

However, he denied the overlapping of China's and Japan's air defense zones over the Diaoyu Islands.

The air defense zone set up by Japan over the Diaoyu Islands is illegal, as the islands belong to China and the airspace over them is China's territorial airspace, rather than part of the air defense zone of another country, he said.

China announced its decision to establish the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone on Saturday.


Commentary: U.S, Japan wrong to blame China for air zone

English.news.cn
2013-11-26 15:16:08
by Xinhua writer Wu Liming

BEIJING, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- China's announcement to establish an Air Defense Identification Zone in East China Sea has drawn criticism from the United States and Japan, yet their blame is wrong.

Their logic is simple: they can do it while China can not, which could be described with a Chinese saying, "the magistrates are free to burn down houses while the common people are forbidden even to light lamps."

It is known to all that the United States is among the first to set up an air defense zone in 1950, and later more than 20 countries have followed suit, which Washington has taken for granted.

However, as soon as China started to do it, Washington immediately voiced various "concerns." U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday voiced concerns over the zone, fearing it might "constitute an attempt to change the status quo in the East China Sea," and a White House spokesman on Monday called the Chinese announcement over the weekend "unnecessarily inflammatory."

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a parliamentary session that China's setup of the zone was a "profoundly dangerous act that may cause unintended consequences." And both Tokyo and Washington said that they would not respect the Chinese demarcation.

Japan set up such a zone in the 1960s and it even one-sidedly allowed the zone to cover China's Diaoyu Islands. But when China set up the zone covering the Diaoyu Islands, Tokyo immediately announced it "unacceptable" and Abe even called China's move "dangerous." It is totally absurd and unreasonable.

In one word, both Washington and Tokyo are pursuing double standards.

The Diaoyu Islands issue is obviously the core to the issue of the air defense zone. It is known to all that the Japanese side is responsible for worsening the situation and jeopardizing the stability in East Asia at large, and that China is forced to respond to safeguard its territorial integrity.

In their statements, both Washington and Tokyo accused China of undermining the stability of the Asia-Pacific region by so doing, but in fact, it is Washington and Tokyo that pose threat to the peace and stability in the region.

U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice recently reiterated that Washington is to send 60 percent of its naval forces to the Pacific region and it is to provide more advanced weapons to its armed forces in the region.

For Japan, Abe has taken a series of worrisome actions, including increasing Japan's military budget for the first time in 11 years, staging more military exercises and even openly announcing the intention to revise Japan's pacifist constitution.

The Diaoyu Islands are an inherent part of the Chinese territory and it is natural for China's East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone to cover the area.

Therefore, it is Washington and Tokyo who are indulging in the trick of calling white black. It is high time they stopped doing so.


Chinese FM: Decision explained to relevant parties

11-26-2013 19:19 BJT

Many countries in the region have reacted to the establishment of China’s East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said on Monday that concerned countries had been explained why such a decision was necessary.

"The Chinese Ambassador to Australia has clearly explained to Australia’s Foreign Ministry about the purpose of setting up the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone and the stand of the Chinese government. We hope the Australian government would understand this decision correctly and join China in maintaining the aviation safety in the area. And hopefully Australia will play a more active role in keeping the regional peace and stability," said Qin Gang, Spokesman of Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The Chinese government issued a statement about the establishment of the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone on Saturday morning. According to military experts, the setting up of the air defense identification zone won’t affect the flight freedom of other countries’ aircraft.

Foreign aircraft need only to report information such as their nationalities and flight plans, and follow other relevant instructions after they enter the zone.

The aim is to better locate and identify flying objects in the zone. Since the United States established the first air defense identification zone in 1950, more than 20 countries and regions have set up such zones.