Thursday, December 12, 2013

China Expands East China Sea ADIZ


 China Expands East China Sea ADIZ

Recently China declared its expanded East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) which led to regional tension as some of the declared area overlapped with the area also claimed by Japan, notably disputed islands of Diaoyu/Senkaku. Strong reactions also came from other neighboring countries of China, including USA.

Reactions : to announcement of unilateral declaration of ADIZ
 Japan, USA, South Korea & Taiwan strongly opposed this move.
 USA sent two B-52 bombers (military purpose aircrafts) to this area. China didn’t react to this situation.
 Japan & South Korea followed USA’s foots. But still China didn’t react.
 USA has advised its airlines to follow the rules of the ADIZ but Japan is totally not ready for it.
 India Airlines remain undisturbed even though it passes through this area.

WHAT IS ADIZ ?
ADIZ is generally set up only by the countries having coast. ADIZ is that airspace beyond the territorial area of the country where the concerned state monitors the movement of any aircraft, which may come or pass by that area.
  • Main purpose behind this – For security of the country. Any aircraft passing through this area might be a potential threat to the country & hence monitoring becomes necessary.
  • ADIZ is recognized by international law but is not jusrisdictional.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THIS ADIZ IS SET UP ?
 Concerned country monitors the airspace of this ADIZ.
 If any aircraft moves through this area, it has to notify the authorities of the concerned countries failing which may attract fighter jets to check this aircraft for any security issue.

PROBLEM OF THE CHINESE ADIZ
 Overlaps with Japanese ADIZ which was created by USA & then transferred to Japan in 1969.
 It also encompasses the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands which is a burning issue amongst Japan and China. Being seen as indirect claim of China over these islands.
 It is being seen as to increase the China’s influence in the South China Sea & rise as a super power.

ISSUE OF THE NAME OF “Diaoyu/Senkaku” islands
 Island Diaoyu and Island Senkaku are the same. It is just that different names are used.
 China calls them Diaoyudao while Japan calls them Senkaku.
 Analyst being impartial to the issue calls this as a collective term as Diaoyu/Senkaku so as to recognize claims of both the countries.

HISTORY OF THESE ISLANDS
 These islands actually belonged to China initially.
 Important to note here is that Japan though a modern country now; it was previously a imperialistic power i.e. a colonial power which annexed most of the South East Asia & the China & kept it under its control till 1945.
 These particular islands were taken by Japan in 1895 from China while it was being imperialistic.
 The suffering at the hands of Japan was particularly shocking for China and the issue remains hugely sensitive.
 As the issue is age old Japan is still trying to say that it holds control on these islands & it backed by USA.

VARIOUS VIEWS ABOUT CHINA’S CREATION OF ADIZ
China’s foreign policy is very opaque & hence correct analysis of any of their move is very difficult.
 Redefining Status-Quo: China is feeling that it too has the right to set up ADIZ for protection of its sovereignty as even Japan has ADIZ of its own.
 Size of Japanese ADIZ: Japan’s ADIZ comes within 130 km of China’s territory. China thought to counter it by making a ADIZ which extends to within 130 km of Japan’s territory.
 As a Challenge: Currently, the Diaoyu/Senkaku are under Japanese control. China for that matter may be trying to show its control on these islands as well.
 Bigger than just ADIZ: This particular ADIZ may not be just an ordinary ADIZ & have been created for bigger maritime security issues in the East China Sea and asserting Chinese dominance in the world order.
 Domestic Pressure: Recently, Chineese Leadership changed with the arrival of President Xi Jinping. As issue of ‘Pakistan’ is a hot button in India, in the same way Japan is the hot button in China. So any action against Japan is highly appreciated by the domestic people in China. None the less, the senior leader of the PLA (political party of China which controls it) are always ready for asserting their sovereignty in the world. So, addition of all this might have led to President’s approval for this.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR INDIA ?
 China has already declared that this decision is their sovereign right & there is no question of setting up of ADIZ with respect to India as they don’t share coast with India.
 ADIZ according to them & international law is only for monitoring aircraft over the water & not land.
 But, we can definitely say that though China for now is a very aggressive power it is still not going to look on India for many successive years.
 The reason behind is that China is aiming for becoming the most influential power in the world in which India does not cause a concern for them. India, currently at least, simply does not factor into China’s strategic priorities.

MORE VIEWS ABOUT CHINA’S ADIZ
 Many countries have ADIZ of their own. So China didn’t feel any problem in establishing it. Perhaps, it was just trying to make the sides equal with Japan & had no idea about the larger picture that would form.
 China backed off from their initial terming of the ADIZ as “emergency defensive measures” and insisted that they just want notification from aircraft entering the airspace, and are not about to respond with force.
 As The Diplomat pointed out, China is engaging in “lawfare” — using international institutions to achieve strategic goals. That means it is using the same international organizations & laws that are in place to assert its power.
 China, like all other countries, has a right to an ADIZ, the ADIZ itself should not be the problem. Rather, China’s actions should be scrutinised.

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