Biden: US does not recognize China's air defense zone
Iran Press TV
Fri Dec 6, 2013 8:52AM GMT
US Vice President Joe Biden has said on behalf of President Barack Obama that Washington will not recognize China's newly declared air defense zone in the East China Sea.
Biden, who is in South Korea on the third leg of his trip to East Asia, also said on Friday that China's Air Defense Identification Zone will have no impact on US military operations in the region.
"I was absolutely clear on behalf of my President: We do not recognize this zone," Biden said during a speech at Yonsei University in Seoul. "It will have no effect on American operations. Just ask my general. None. Zero."
Biden's trip to South Korea follows a visit to Beijing which failed to resolve US concerns over China's new air defense zone.
Biden had a five-hour meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday, but, according to US officials, the dispute over Beijing's air defense zone remained unresolved.
Beijing issued a map on Nov. 23 of an Air Defense Identification Zone demanding that all aircraft entering the region should identify themselves and accept Chinese instructions.
The controversial Air Defense Identification Zone includes a cluster of islands which are claimed by both Japan and China.
Washington and its allies in the region have rejected Beijing's demand that all aircraft flying over the new zone should provide full flight plans.
Last week, two US B-52 bombers flew through the area without informing the Chinese government.
China is concerned about growing US militarism in the Asia-Pacific. Beijing considers Washington's shift, or "pivot", towards the Asia region as a strategy to counter China's increasing global influence.
"I want to make one thing absolutely clear: President Obama's decision to rebalance to the Pacific basin is not in question," Biden said on Friday in his talks with South Korean President Park Geun-Hye.
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