Tensions rise over East China Sea

By Li Shen: 0 Comment(s)Print E-mail China.org.cn, December 4, 2013

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Editor's note: Tensions have escalated among China, Japan and the U.S. ever since China announced its installment of an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea on Nov. 23.

Japan has called the set-up a "peace-disturbing act," and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel have both said the U.S. is "deeply concerned." From Nov. 26 to Nov. 28, U.S., South Korean and Japanese warplanes flew through China's ADIZ consecutively without informing China.

China's Air Defense Identification Zone in the East China Sea [By Li Huiru/China.org.cn]

As an early-warning air defense concept, an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) is established by some countries off their coasts. Upon entering the zone, all aircrafts are required to identify themselves, report flight plans and inform ground control of their exact position.

The first ADIZ was established by the U.S. in 1950, when it created a joint North American ADIZ with Canada, citing the legal right of any nation to establish reasonable conditions of entry into its territory. More than 20 countries, including the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia, South Korea and Japan, have demarcated Air Defense Identification Zones in high seas or international waters. Japan, South Korea and China's Taiwan region have their ADIZs respectively in the East China Sea.

Why has China's creation of an ADIZ caused so much havoc? Why would not the U.S. and Japan like to respect China's legitimate rights? [Have your say]

China.org.cn presents you with opinions from China and abroad on this issue.

	The US moral standing in Asia
Luo Huaiyu is a PhD candidate of both Macquarie University and Beijing Language and Culture University.	We have changed but America has not. Japan is the fire and the United States has long been supplying the fuel. It is time for the U.S. to reexamine its moral standing in East Asia. >>

	US-China-Japan tensions: serenity and wisdom necessary
Eugene Clark is Distinguished Professor, China University of Political Science and Emeritus Professor, University of Canberra.	China, the U.S. and Japan should focus on creating a framework with the emphasis on creating synergies rather than suspicion. >>

	US B-52 flight a recognition of China's defense zone
Xi Yazhou is a military commentator	When the U.S. B-52 bombers entered China's air defense identification zone above the East China Sea, the U.S. actually accepted the existence of the zone. >>

	US, Japan test China's will to defend its rights
Zhao Jinglun was a Nieman Fellow, class of 1981. He is the chief opinions writer for The Asian-American Times (NYC) and a columnist for the Hong Kong Economic Journal.	China has never bowed to U.S. bluster. Those who want to test China's determination to defend its rights had better come to their senses. >>

	Air defense zone is a firewall and buffer
Luo Yuan is the Deputy Chairman of China Strategic Culture Promotion Association, and a major general in the PLA.	The East China Sea ADIZ will serve as a firewall and buffer to guard off potential threats to China. It is backed by international laws and practice and other countries have no right to judge it. >>

	China's upgraded periphery diplomacy
Shen Dingli is the Associate Dean of Fudan University's Institute of International Studies, and Director of Center for American Studies.	The establishment of the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone is part of China's new periphery diplomacy, which is aimed at safeguarding China's rights and stability. >>

	Accusations about China's air defense zone unjustified
Tao Duanfang is a researcher of African issues with the Far & Wide Journal.	China's declaration about its air defense identification zone is an effort to assert its sovereignty over disputed islands, not to disturb peace in the East China Sea. >>