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Why new China air zone raises ire
11/26/2013 2:43:38 PM
- China's declaration of air defense zone prompts outcry
- Air Defense Identification Zone is unilateral declaration
- Japan and China's compete with claim for Diaoyu/Senkaku Island
(CNN) -- An international battle of words is underway after China declared the creation of an air zone over disputed islands in the East China Sea.
The United States warned that China's claim to airspace "constitutes an attempt to change the status quo in the East China Sea. Escalatory action will only increase tensions in the region and create risks of an incident," according to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
China is in the center of several island disputes, including rising tensions in the East China Sea over the islands known as Diaoyu by China and Senkaku by Japan. Tensions have festered over the years between the two nations over competing claims to the disputed islands.
What is China's "Air Defense Identification Zone"?
China released a map and coordinates that identify its air defense zone on November 23.
It declared that aircraft in the area must report their flight plans to China, maintain two-way radio and clearly mark their nationalities on the aircraft. The new rules went into effect 10 a.m. on November 23, Xinhua reported.
This space included a swath of the East China Sea, including the Daioyu/Senkaku islands.
China vowed to "adopt defensive emergency measures to respond to aircraft that do not cooperate in the identification or refuse to follow the instructions."
What is an "Air Defense Identification Zone" or ADIZ?
The ADIZ is not a new concept. It's essentially a buffer zone outside a country's sovereign airspace.
Several countries including the United States have established ADIZ in international airspace next to their nations. A foreign aircraft traveling in an ADIZ can be required to identify itself for entry into that country's airspace.
It is unilaterally imposed, so it doesn't really have a legal basis and isn't based on negotiation with neighbors, said James Hardy, the Asia-Pacific Editor of IHS Jane's Defence Weekly. "It's purpose is to give the country an early warning zone in which it can intercept potentially unfriendly aircraft."
"Countries are free to set their own Air Defense Identification Zone," added Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt, director of Asia-Pacific Programs at the U.S. Institute of Peace. "It's a decision that's taken unilaterally but they become sensitive when they overlap as in this case."
What islands does China's ADIZ affect?
The Chinese defense ministry said the new air defense zone was not directed toward a specific country. The map and coordinates released by China show the zone covers parts of the East China Sea, as well as the Daioyu/Senkaku islands.
China may also have stirred its South Korean neighbors. A reef, called Ieodo in the Yellow Sea sits about 149 kilometers southwest of Korean and 287 kilometers east from China, is partially covered by the Chinese ADIZ. The Koreans have established an Ocean Research Station on Ieodo.
Why have Diaoyu/Senkaku islands been so contentious?
China says its claim on the islands extend back to 1400s, which was used as a staging point for Chinese fisherman.
Japan says it saw no trace of Chinese control of the islands in an 1885 survey, so formally recognized them as Japanese sovereign territory in 1895. Japan then sold the islands in 1932 to descendants of the original settlers. The Japanese surrender at the end of World War II in 1945 only served to cloud the issue further.
The islands were administered by the U.S. occupation force after the war. But in 1972, Washington returned them to Japan as part of its withdrawal from Okinawa.
According to Xinhua, China and Japan "agreed in 1978 to put the issue aside and solve it in the future."
The dispute intensified last year as protests erupted in China after Japan announced it had bought several of the disputed islands from private Japanese owners. Anti-Japanese demonstrations turned violent as protesters hurled bottles at the Japanese embassy in Beijing, overturned Japanese cars, ransacked Japanese stores and restaurants.
What's so appealing about the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands?
It's uninhabited and may look like a bunch of rocks. But ownership of the islands would allow for exclusive oil, mineral, and fishing rights in surrounding waters.
How have China's neighbors reacted?
Japan on Sunday slammed the Chinese announcement, saying it had "no validity whatsoever."
Japan's Minister for Foreign Affairs called China's measure "profoundly dangerous acts that unilaterally change the status quo in the East China Sea, escalating the situation, and that may cause unintended consequences."
In South Korea, the nation's defense ministry spokesman, Kim Min-seok said the country's sovereignty over Ieodo remains unchanged.
"China has unilaterally set up its ADIZ," Kim said. "The ADIZ that China has set up overlaps either with our military jurisdiction and military operation approved areas or area within our government's sovereignty, like Ieodo."
The Korean government would fly over such areas without informing the Chinese side, he added.
The United States warned that China's military claim to air zone over a disputed island chain creates the risk of "misunderstanding and miscalculation." Its statement drew a sharp rebuke from the Chinese calling the U.S. for making "irresponsible remarks."
U.S.: China claim of air rights over disputed islands 'creates risk of incident'
China slams 'inappropriate' U.S. remarks on territorial dispute with Japan
CNN's Jethro Mullen, Chelsea Carter contributed to this report.
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