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  • U.S. Directly Challenges China's Air Defense Zone : B52 flies over

    U.S. Directly Challenges China's Air Defense Zone
    Pair of American B-52 Bombers Fly Over Disputed Island Chain


    By JULIAN E. BARNES CONNECT
    Updated Nov. 26, 2013 12:41 p.m. ET

    WASHINGTON—A pair of American B-52 bombers flew over a disputed island chain in the East China Sea without informing Beijing, U.S. officials said Tuesday, in a direct challenge to China and its establishment of an expanded air-defense zone.

    The planes flew out of Guam and entered the new Chinese Air Defense Identification Zone at about 7 p.m. Washington time Monday, according to a U.S. official.
    The flight of the B-52s, based at Anderson Air Force Base in Guam, were part of a long-planned exercise called Coral Lightning. The bombers weren't armed and weren't accompanied by escort planes.

    But the routine flight took on new significance with China's weekend announcement, and it counters Beijing's attempts to strengthen its influence over the region. China had warned that aircraft that don't comply could be subject to a military response.

    The U.S. official said that China didn't make contact with the B-52s as they flew over the islands. The planes returned to Guam after the exercise.
    "The planes flew a pattern that included passing through the ADIZ," the official said. "The flight was without incident."
    China is now requiring aircraft flying in the region to register their flight path with the Foreign Ministry, identify their transponder and their radio frequency. Col. Steve Warren, the Pentagon spokesman, said the U.S. wouldn't comply with those requirements.
    "The United States military will continue conducting flight operations in the region, including with our allies and partners," said Col. Warren on Monday, prior to the B-52 flight. "We will not in any way change how we conduct our operations as a result of the Chinese policy of establishing an ADIZ, an Air Defense Identification Zone."

    Col. Warren said the U.S. didn't agree with China's decision to establish the zone, and the U.S. wouldn't comply with it while flying over the disputed islands. "We see it as a destabilizing attempt to alter the status quo in the region," Col. Warren said.



    China's official Xinhua news agency announced earlier Tuesday that the country's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, was making its maiden voyage to the South China Sea, where China is also embroiled in territorial disputes with its neighbors.
    The Liaoning left its homeport of Qingdao in eastern China on Tuesday and was being escorted by two destroyers and two frigates to the South China Sea where it would conduct training exercises, Xinhua said.

    —Jeremy Page in Beijing contributed to this article.

    Write to Julian E. Barnes at [email protected]
    U.S. Directly Challenges China's Air Defense Zone - WSJ.com

  • #2
    That didn't take long.

    Comment


    • #3
      I'm surprised that the Chinese backed down here; the B-52s were unarmed, unescorted, and could have been intercepted non-violently by loitering fighter aircraft.

      I'm waiting to see the Chinese response; will they claim that the B-52s were tracked by their AEW&C aircraft and left their ADIZ before they could have been escorted out?

      Or is there some kind of mutually face-saving solution available for everyone in the region brewed up?

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Inst View Post
        I'm surprised that the Chinese backed down here; the B-52s were unarmed, unescorted, and could have been intercepted non-violently by loitering fighter aircraft.

        I'm waiting to see the Chinese response; will they claim that the B-52s were tracked by their AEW&C aircraft and left their ADIZ before they could have been escorted out?

        Or is there some kind of mutually face-saving solution available for everyone in the region brewed up?
        My guess is China's Air Defense Zone is targeted at Japan only. At least at the early stage. But we'll see.

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by cdude View Post
          My guess is China's Air Defense Zone is targeted at Japan only. At least at the early stage. But we'll see.
          Thats not what the Chinese said?

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Inst View Post
            I'm surprised that the Chinese backed down here; the B-52s were unarmed, unescorted, and could have been intercepted non-violently by loitering fighter aircraft.
            Their flights to date by the PRC to that area have been drones or MPA type aircraft. I suspect keeping a pair of fighters close enough to actually respond to flights such as these B-52s are difficult to manage both logistically and politically for them. That said I'm a little surprised and quickly the US flew planes there; the article says it was a scheduled exercise, but at a minimum the announcement B-52s flew there is out of the ordinary, if not the actual flight path used.

            Comment


            • #7
              Chinese Aircraft Carrier ( training ship) accompanied with two destroyers and two frigates are the one way to ADIZ

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Inst View Post
                I'm surprised that the Chinese backed down here; the B-52s were unarmed, unescorted, and could have been intercepted non-violently by loitering fighter aircraft.

                I'm waiting to see the Chinese response; will they claim that the B-52s were tracked by their AEW&C aircraft and left their ADIZ before they could have been escorted out?

                Or is there some kind of mutually face-saving solution available for everyone in the region brewed up?
                Why are you surprised?They have USAF written on them.They don't need anything beyond that.
                Those who know don't speak
                He said to them, "But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. Luke 22:36

                Comment


                • #9
                  That didn't mean anything back in 2001, where an under-educated PLAAF pilot didn't understand that if you fly your jet too close to another aircraft, namely an American surveillance aircraft, you're going to get sucked in by some obscure aerodynamic effect.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    And 65 years ago Dai Li's agents tracked and killed the families of the pilots who flew that general's last flight. When I read that I had a glimpse of the 2001 incident and the loot the Chinese got from the US aircraft.

                    This incident is different from that of 2001.If the Chinese try to intercept future flights,an escort can be added.The Chinese are in no position to do anything but politely ask the Americans to leave and lose face when they'll refuse.

                    I'll defer to Xinhui and the Colonel on why the Chinese established this policy in the first place.
                    Those who know don't speak
                    He said to them, "But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. Luke 22:36

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Mihais View Post
                      And 65 years ago Dai Li's agents tracked and killed the families of the pilots who flew that general's last flight. When I read that I had a glimpse of the 2001 incident and the loot the Chinese got from the US aircraft.

                      This incident is different from that of 2001.If the Chinese try to intercept future flights,an escort can be added.The Chinese are in no position to do anything but politely ask the Americans to leave and lose face when they'll refuse.

                      I'll defer to Xinhui and the Colonel on why the Chinese established this policy in the first place.
                      i'm pretty sure the adiz is meant for japan than anybody else. but they don't want to say its meant for japan. i suspect if tension is getting any higher than china will monitor japan bound plane only rather than everyone elses

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        weaponww, I don't think you need to spell it out. :-)



                        South Korean reaction is also interesting.
                        Asian airlines to give flight plans to China after airspace zone created
                        ---
                        China protests U.S., Japan criticism of airspace move
                        Sun, Nov 24 21:50 PM EST

                        BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Defense Ministry said on Monday it had lodged formal protests with the U.S. and Japanese embassies in China after both countries criticized Beijing's plan to impose new rules on airspace over disputed waters in the East China Sea.

                        The ministry said the criticism was unfounded and irresponsible. It also called on the United States to stop taking sides in the row with Japan over a group of uninhabited disputed islands in the East China Sea.

                        China on Saturday published coordinates for a newly established "East China Sea Air Defense 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, prompting both Washington and Tokyo to sharply criticize the move.

                        China said the new rules would not affect "normal operations" for international flights. Several Asian airlines contacted by Reuters said their flights would not be impacted.

                        China's Defense Ministry said it was within the country's right to set up the zone.

                        "Japan's remarks are unjustified - China will never accept them," spokesman Yang Yujun said in a statement on the ministry's website.

                        "We reiterate that the purpose of China's approach is to defend national sovereignty and territorial airspace security, maintain the order of airspace flight, and is an effective exercise of our right of self defense," Yang said.

                        U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry over the weekend urged China to exercise caution and restraint, saying freedom of overflight was essential to stability and security in the Pacific.

                        Yang said China's move complied with the U.N. charter and international law.

                        The United States should stop taking sides in the dispute, and stop making "irresponsible remarks" on the new airspace zone, Yang added.

                        "The United States, on the issue of the Diaoyu islands, must earnestly not take sides, not make inappropriate remarks and not give the wrong signal to Japan and encourage (its) risky behavior," Yang said.

                        Sino-Japanese relations have been strained for months because of the dispute over the tiny islands in the East China Sea, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China.

                        A South Korean transport ministry official said South Korean planes flying in that airspace would notify China's civil aviation authorities of their flight plans.

                        An official at the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau said airlines had been advised to take greater care in the area, although the warning was general rather than related to anything specific.

                        (Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Sui-Lee Wee; Additional reporting by Tim Kelly in TOKYO. Editing by Dean Yates)
                        “the misery of being exploited by capitalists is nothing compared to the misery of not being exploited at all” -- Joan Robinson

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          It's in international air space. China's "air defense zone" isn't just aimed at Japan. It's also aimed at studying the degree of American commitment to interceding in regional disputes on behalf of its allies, finding any possible fissures to exploit and widen, and finding opportunities to exert control over strategic air and naval transit routes.

                          Well, they just got their answer.
                          Last edited by citanon; 26 Nov 13,, 21:31.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            ROK is "friendly"


                            China informed S. Korea of air defense zone over East China Sea

                            2013/11/25 15:48



                            BEIJING, Nov. 25 (Yonhap) -- China informed South Korea of its new air defense zone over the East China Sea days before it publicly declared the new zone that partly overlaps with South Korea's own zone, a potential dispute between the two neighboring counties, a Seoul diplomatic source in Beijing said Monday.

                            South Korea has conveyed its stance of "regret" to China through a diplomatic channel and the two sides were willing to discuss the issue in a "friendly manner," the source said on the condition of anonymity.

                            "We had been recently informed of the Chinese side's decision to set up the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ)," the source said, adding that the Chinese side "expressed its willingness to discuss the issue in a friendly manner."

                            "Our stance is that we will continue consultations with the Chinese side to prevent the issue from undermining our national interest," the source said.

                            China's defense ministry announced Saturday the ADIZ over the East China Sea, obligating all aircraft entering the area to report to Chinese authorities and follow their instructions.

                            The new zone partly overlaps with South Korea's KADIZ off the nation's southernmost island of Jeju.

                            The Chinese zone also included a South Korean-controlled submerged rock, Ieodo, that lies within the overlapping exclusive economic zones of South Korea and China. Although international maritime law stipulates that a submerged rock cannot be claimed as territory by any country, South Korea effectively controls Ieodo, which is closer to it than any other country.

                            Japan warned Sunday of the risk of "unpredictable events" against the declaration of China's air defense zone as it included airspace over a set of islands also claimed by Japan.

                            In announcing the zone, which went into force at 10:00 a.m. Saturday and covers a wide area of the East China Sea between South Korea and Taiwan, the Chinese defense ministry said all aircraft entering the zone must report to Chinese authorities and follow their instructions.

                            The ministry's statement, carried by China's Xinhua news agency, said China's military "will adopt defensive emergency measures to respond to aircraft that do not cooperate in the identification or refuse to follow the instructions."

                            China and Japan have been locked in a bitter dispute over a set of islands in the East China Sea, which are known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan. Tension sparked in September last year when the Tokyo government purchased three of the islands from a private owner.

                            The conflict between the two sides over the disputed islands has reached a flashpoint, with their patrol ships playing cat-and-mouse games near the islands. Japanese fighter jets have also been scrambled as China's military aircraft flew near Japan.

                            [email protected]

                            (END)
                            “the misery of being exploited by capitalists is nothing compared to the misery of not being exploited at all” -- Joan Robinson

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by citanon View Post
                              It's in international air space. China's "air defense zone" isn't just aimed at Japan. It's also aimed at studying the degree of American commitment to interceding in regional disputes on behalf of its allies, and finding any possible fissures to exploit and widen.

                              Well, they just got their answer.
                              It is not a test, rather than a long term commitment to a policy. The Chinese will not and won't backup via a single B-52. Before they enact the policy, they have invested a great deal of military infrastructure and hardware to support a continues patrol. The B-52 is expected.
                              “the misery of being exploited by capitalists is nothing compared to the misery of not being exploited at all” -- Joan Robinson

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