Japan and ally the United States yesterday sharply criticised 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 Defence 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 yesterday.
In a strongly worded statement, US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel called Beijing’s move a “destabilising attempt to alter the status quo in the region”.
“This unilateral action increases the risk of misunderstanding and miscalculations,” he said.
One US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Beijing’s move was being interpreted as “a direct challenge” to Japan’s operations in the area, believed to be surrounded by energy-rich seabed. 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.
There is an increased riskof misunderstanding, miscalculation
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.
US 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.