U.S., China unlikely to clash over Beijing's ADIZ
ROC Central News Agency
2013/11/27 20:28:13
Hong Kong, Nov. 27 (CNA) Although the United States defied China's demarcation of an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) by flying bombers over a disputed island chain in the East China Sea, conflict between the two countries is unlikely to erupt, a China expert in Hong Kong said Wednesday.
China unilaterally announced the zone, which covers a disputed island chain in the East China Sea, Nov. 23, saying that aircraft entering the zone should identify themselves or face 'emergency defensive measures.'
The U.S. defied the move by flying two B-52 bombers over the disputed islands without informing China Tuesday.
Columnist Leung Guo Liang told CNA that China has become a major power and needs to demarcate its ADIZ, as other countries in the region already have such zones of their own.
Moreover, the ADIZ demarcated by Japan is near China, so that Chinese fighter planes that need to enter the Japanese zone soon after taking off have no space for conducting training exercises, according to Leung.
Analysts said Japan's ADIZ is close to China because U.S. planes had to conduct reconnaissance missions in the area in years gone by. Today, however, advanced technology means the U.S. no longer needs to depend on airborne reconnaisance for its monitoring operations.
In any case, Leung said, military communications between the U.S. and China have been smooth in recent years and the two sides have a certain degree of understanding of each other.
Leung noted that the strong reaction from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the ADIZ is possibly just a show for domestic consumption in Japan.
However, he also pointed out that even without the ADIZ, China definitely has contingency plans for a conflict with Japan, but will consider the U.S. factor, such as how the United States will intervene and how it will support Japan.
(By Stanley Cheung and Lilian Wu)
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