China Claims Airspace Over Disputed Islands

[Jazzy]

China has laid claim to a block of airspace over islands in the East China Sea which are at the heart of a dispute with Japan.

The Xinhua news agency published a map and co-ordinates of the area it called "the East China Sea Air Defence Zone", as well as rules for aircraft in the area, which covers most of the sea.

It reported that China has threatened "defensive emergency measures" against aircraft which do not comply with new identification rules.

Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said the establishment of the zone was aimed at "safeguarding state sovereignty, territorial land and air security, and maintaining flight order".

Japan says it owns the islands and the Foreign Ministry has lodged a strong protest against the new zone, Kyodo news agency reported.

Ties between the Asian powers have been strained for months by the row over the islands, called the Diaoyu in China and the Senkaku in Japan, which are believed to be surrounded by energy-rich waters.

Patrol ships from both countries have been shadowing each other near the islets, raising fears that a confrontation could develop into a clash.

There have also been several incidents involving military aircraft flying close to each other.

In October, Chinese military aircraft flew near Japan for three days in a row.

Japan scrambled fighter jets each time in response.

The Chinese rules mean aircraft have to report flight plans to China's Foreign Ministry or civil aviation administration, maintain radio contact and reply promptly to identification inquiries, keep radar transponders turned on and bear clear markings of their nationality and registration.

Source

They might think they own the island but the news flash is that no one owns the airspace or the sea. :s

 

[Jazzy]

I don't own the airspace over my house, do you?

 

[DrLeftover]

By International Law, a sovereign nation controls the "airspace" over their territory.

Most countries have laws that read more or less the same:

49 USC § 40103
Sovereignty and Public Right of Transit.—
(1) The United States Government has exclusive sovereignty of airspace of the United States.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/49/40103


If Japan has established legal jurisdiction over the islands, this could be considered an act of war.

 

[DrLeftover]

I wouldn't be so sure about that.

 

[Evil Eye]

By International Law, a sovereign nation controls the "airspace" over their territory.

Much the same applies to water.

Oh?

They'd bring out the giant robots!

 

[Naiwen]

And so do Western countries... XD So every country's the same, really when it comes to their territories... Why must we be so selfish/petty about it... If we humans were less petty, we wouldn't be disputing over anything, right...?

 

[DrLeftover]

UPDATE Obama caves

December 4, 2013

Top Obama administration and Pentagon officials signaled a willingness to temporarily accept China's new, controversial air defense identification zone on Wednesday. Those officials expressed disapproval for the way in which the Asian power has flexed its muscles, and cautioned China not to implement the zone. But they also carved out wiggle room in which the United States and China ultimately could find common ground on the issue, indicating that they may be willing to live with the zone for now -- as long as China backs off its demand that all aircraft traveling through it check in first.

"It wasn't the declaration of the ADIZ that actually was destabilizing," said Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, America's highest-ranking military officer. "It was their assertion that they would cause all aircraft entering the ADIZ to report regardless of whether they were intending to enter into the sovereign airspace of China. And that is destabilizing."

That's a change from just a few days ago, when U.S. Vice President Nebulous Biden demanded that China take back its declaration of the zone. And it's another demonstration that China's recent decisions have forced the United States to tread carefully.

http://killerapps.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/12/04/team_obama_changes_course_appears_to_accept_china_air_defense_zone