The state news agency Xinhua announced the patrols after Japan, South Korea and the US all sent military aircraft through the zone in a clear challenge to the Chinese measure. Beijing had previously responded only by saying it had monitored the flights.
Shen Jinke, a spokesman for the Chinese air force, described Thursday’s dispatch of aircraft as "a defensive measure and in line with international common practices” in the Xinhua report.
"China's air force is on high alert and will take measures to deal with diverse air threats to firmly protect the security of the country's airspace," he said.
A previous patrol took place on Saturday, when the zone was declared.
Many countries have similar zones, requiring aircraft approaching their territorial airspace to identify themselves, and China has said it created the area to defend its national security. But its zone is controversial because it includes the skies over islands known as the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, which are the subject of a long-running territorial dispute, and overlaps zones established by Japan and South Korea.
Taylor Fravel, an expert on regional security at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said establishment of the zone increased the potential for an incident in the air that could spark a larger crisis. But he said tensions might ease if China continued to clarify the nature of the zone and how it intended to deal with unidentified aircraft, especially those flying through the zone but not heading toward China.
“China has always chafed at Japan's ADIZ, which at some points is less than 150km from China and has been used by Japan to report intrusions into Japan's airspace. China probably wants to level the playing field with Japan and increase the pressure on Tokyo regarding the disputed islands,” he said.
Japan does not acknowledge that the ownership of the islands is disputed. The US does not take a view on sovereignty but recognises Japan’s administrative control and has said the joint security pact covers the islands.
Many analysts think China is laying down a long-term marker, but did not anticipate the forceful response it has received from the US as well as Japan.
“I think the logic is that incrementally it will make other countries accustomed to China exerting an enhanced degree of authority in that space,” said Rory Medcalf of Australia's Lowy Institute.
China is now seeking to dampen the international pushback without appearing weak to other nations or its own people.
Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt, Asia-Pacific director at the US Institute of Peace, said the creation of its zone had its own momentum.
“The danger in the announcement is that it empowers the People’s Liberation Army, maritime agencies and netizens [internet users] to hold the government to account,” she said.
“Now people are transgressing the zone, they have to make it look to the domestic audience like they are serious. They have given birth to internal pressures.”
Dai Xu, a famously hawkish air force colonel and high profile media commentator, wrote on his Weibo microblog: “The war of public opinion is more interesting than diplomatic war.”
Other users wrote scathingly about China’s muted response to foreign military flights into the zone, describing the government as a paper tiger.
Behind the immediate issues lie regional concerns about China’s growing strength, Beijing’s unease at Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe’s determination to strengthen his country’s forces, and questions about the US presence in and commitment to the region.
The US vice-president, Joe Biden, will visit Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul on a trip beginning this Sunday which is likely to be dominated by discussions of the zone.
"We decline to comment on Chinese flights, but the United States will continue to partner with our allies and operate in the area as normal," a Pentagon spokesman said.
In a statement released on Thursday, the European Union’s foreign affairs chief Lady Ashton expressed concern at the establishment of the zone and China's warning of "emergency defence measures" in the event of non-compliance.
“This development heightens the risk of escalation and contributes to raising tensions in the region. The EU calls on all sides to exercise caution and restraint,” she said.
Yan Xuetong, a foreign relations scholar at Tsinghua University, said: “I think the only problem is Japan because it has taken a confrontational policy. They want clashes and to drag America into military containment against China.
“The international community has ignored the roots of this... Abe has clearly stated that his fundamental goal is to revise the constitution [under which Japan renounces war] and he needs security tensions to legitimise his efforts.”
Tokyo’s military ambitions are particularly sensitive because many in China say Japan has not adequately recognised or atoned for its brutal occupation in the first half of the 20th century.
The state-run nationalist tabloid Global Times warned in an an editorial on Thursday that China was willing to engage “in a protracted confrontation with Japan”.
The newspaper – known for running hawkish pieces that do not always reflect official policy, but reflect the view of some within the power elites – predicted that an imminent conflict might be waged between China and Japan, adding: “If the US does not go too far, we will not target it in safeguarding our air defence zone. What we should do at present is to firmly counter provocative actions from Japan.”
Original Article
Source: theguardian.com
Author: Tania Branigan
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