The latest round of bickering started last September when Japan stoked the conflict by going as far as to "nationalize" the Diaoyu Islands. China believes that it was an attempt to change the status quo. That is why Chinese officials rejected the U.S. remarks on trying to transform the “status quo” through the ADIZ. The concept of unilateral air defense is alien to standard international law. Usually powerful countries like the U.S create these areas in order to thwart strategic threats. The real issue is enforcement of these zones.

The nature of the Chinese ADIZ in East China Sea is different from some of the air defense zones by the U.S. or Japan. It is a sensitive area claimed by two powerful neighboring economies of the world and the U.S. has deep interest in the area.

The Chinese purpose is to assert a claim without immediately changing the ground realities. That is why it stayed cool at the B-52 incident. Any direct use of force to enforce the ADIZ at this point could involve risks of being unnecessarily drawn into a dangerous situation. What we have seen from the policy of the Chinese leaders shows that they are very good at delaying thorny issues with other countries by avoiding direct confrontations while remaining steadfast to their stated positions. A somewhat similar dilemma is involved in case of South China Sea problem. China has shown restraint while resolute in its basic policy. The U.S. is heavily involved in both problems due to its relations with Japan and the Philippines, which adds to their complexity by making them more than regional.

The declaration of an air defense zone does not mean that China will stop all of its rivals’ activities at the expense of economic interests but it is a statement of intentions for longer period of time. It shows that Beijing will not accept any unilateral impositions of rights by Japan in the region which it considers as vital. At this juncture it can be said that there is no real danger of escalation as vital interests of the parties would be badly damaged in a war, but the brinkmanship will continue to safeguard future claims.

The U.S. flying the B-52s in the zone is a message that it will stand by Japan and China’s restraint shows that there is no hurry to effectively implement the AIDZ. But it does not mean that the Chinese announcement was just a one-off event and it will forever remain calm in face of challenges.

The writer is a Pakistani columnist.

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