U.S., Japan slam China's 'destabilizing' move on East China Sea airspace

[Geaux4it]

So China is next in line to test Obama. Maybe he will cave in ad give China New York City.

-Geaux

U.S., Japan slam China's 'destabilizing' move on East China Sea airspace

BY CHANG-RAN KIM AND PHIL STEWART
TOKYO/WASHINGTON Sun Nov 24, 2013 6:19am EST

(Reuters) - Japan and ally the United States sharply criticized China's move to impose new rules on airspace over islands at the heart of a territorial dispute with Tokyo, warning of an escalation into the "unexpected" if Beijing enforces the rules.

China's government-run Xinhua news agency published coordinates for a newly established "East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone," which covers most of that sea and includes the skies over the disputed islands.

Beijing warned that it would take "defensive emergency measures" against aircraft that failed to identify themselves properly in the airspace.

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said the move was unacceptable. "It could well lead to an unforeseen situation," he told reporters on Sunday.

Ties between the Asian powers, the world's second and third biggest economies, have been strained for months by the dispute over the islands in the East China Sea, called the Diaoyu by China and the Senkaku by Japan. The islands are currently under Japanese administrative control.

Saturday's announcement suggests that foreign aircraft merely passing through that zone would have to follow China's procedures - or face unknown, potentially dangerous consequences.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged China to exercise caution and restraint, saying freedom of overflight was essential to stability and security in the Pacific.

"We urge China not to implement its threat to take action against aircraft that do not identify themselves or obey orders from Beijing," he said in a statement.

read more of the story here: U.S., Japan slam China's 'destabilizing' move on East China Sea airspace | Reuters

 

[waltky]

Granny says tell `em to go eat some chop-suey or we gonna shoot dey's planes down...

Chinese flies fighter jets into disputed air defense zone; Japan remains defiant
November 28, 2013 -- Official: China warplanes fly as "defensive measure" into newly declared zone; The planes include Su-30 and J-11 fighter jets and a KJ-2000 airborne system; Official: China's military has been on "high alert," will act in self-defense; A Japan official says Japan will continue patrols/surveillance of the disputed area

China sent fighter jets into its newly claimed -- and hotly disputed -- air defense zone above the East China Sea on Thursday, the same day that Japan's military firmly insisted its own patrols over the area wouldn't stop because of Beijing's declaration. The People's Liberation Army Air Force flew warplanes, including Su-30 and J-11 aircraft, into the "air defense identification zone" that Beijing announced last week, air force spokesman Col. Shen Jinke said. A KJ-2000 -- an airborne radar early warning system -- also took flight.

The Russian-developed Su-30 is a two-seat aircraft described by its manufacturer as "a highly maneuverable fighter" capable of hitting ground and sea-surface targets. The Chinese-made J-11 is a single-seat fighter also capable of ground attacks. The fighter jets conducted "routine air patrols ... aiming to strengthen monitoring on air targets in the zone and fulfill the air force's historic mission," Shen said in a statement posted on the Chinese defense ministry's website. Jinke portrayed the mission as a "defensive measure ... in line with international practices." China's military has been on "high alert," he added, and is prepared to act "based on different air threats to firmly ensure air-defense safety."

What comes of Beijing's latest foray over its controversial newly created zone remained to be determined early Friday. Still, some of its previous actions -- including the declaration itself -- have been met with staunch resistance by Japan and its longtime ally, the United States. On Thursday, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said his nation's Self Defense Force has used ships and planes to patrol and conduct surveillance in the East China Sea since before China claimed the air defense zone that covers much of the sea.

And they wouldn't stop, he insisted. "We have no intention to change this operation in consideration for China," Suga told reporters. "... We will continue the surveillance/patrol operation with strong determination to protect our territory against China's one-sided attempt to change the status quo by force." Japan isn't alone in disobeying China, which has warned military measures could be taken if planes entering the zone fail to identify themselves and submit flight planes to Chinese authorities. Two unarmed U.S. B-52 bombers recently flew through the area in what the U.S. State Department characterized as a planned military exercise.


War of words

See also:

China sends warplanes into air defense zone
28 Nov.`13 — China said it sent warplanes into its newly declared maritime air defense zone days after the U.S., South Korea and Japan all sent flights through the airspace in broadening defiance of rules Beijing says it has imposed over the East China Sea.

China's air force on Thursday sent several fighter jets and an early warning aircraft on normal air patrols in the zone, the Xinhua agency reported, citing air force spokesman Shen Jinke. The report did not specify exactly when the flights were sent or whether they had encountered foreign military aircraft. The United States, Japan and South Korea have said they have sent military or coast guard flights through the zone without encountering any Chinese response since Beijing announced its creation last week.

Shen described Thursday's flights as "a defensive measure and in line with international common practices." He said China's air force would remain on high alert and will take measures to protect the country's airspace. Chinese officials have said commercial flights are unaffected by the new rules. While China's surprise announcement last week announcing the zone initially raised some tensions in the region, analysts say Beijing's motive is not to trigger an aerial confrontation but is a more long-term strategy to solidify claims to disputed territory by simply marking the area as its own.

China's lack of efforts to stop the foreign flights — including two U.S. B-52s that flew through the zone on Tuesday — has been an embarrassment for Beijing. Even some Chinese state media outlets suggested Thursday that Beijing may have mishandled the episodes. "Beijing needs to reform its information release mechanism to win the psychological battles waged by Washington and Tokyo," the Global Times, a nationalist tabloid published by the Communist Party's flagship People's Daily, said in an editorial.

Without prior notice, Beijing began demanding Saturday that passing aircraft identify themselves and accept Chinese instructions or face consequences in an East China Sea zone that overlaps a similar air defense identification zone overseen by Japan since 1969 and initially part of one set up by the U.S. military. But when tested just days later by U.S. B-52 flights — with Washington saying it made no effort to comply with China's rules, and would not do so in the future — Beijing merely noted, belatedly, that it had seen the flights and taken no further action.

More China sends warplanes into air defense zone