China Claims Airspace Over Disputed Islands

[The Stig]

Original story HERE (http://news.sky.com/story/1172656/china-claims-airspace-over-disputed-islands) at skynews



China Claims Airspace Over Disputed Islands

The move triggers a "strong protest" from Japan and is likely to heighten tensions in a territorial row between the two countries.

11:49am UK, Saturday 23 November 2013

Some of the islands are Japan-controlled


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.

[The Stig]

Original story HERE (http://news.sky.com/story/1174076/us-bombers-fly-over-chinas-air-defence-zone) at skynews



US Bombers Fly Over China's Air Defence Zone

The US flies two B-52 bombers over China's controversial new Air Defence Identification Zone during a training flight.
8:50pm UK, Tuesday 26 November 2013

Two American B-52 bombers have flown over disputed islands in the East China Sea during a training mission, in defiance of China's new territorial claims.

US officials say the two bombers were in the zone for less than an hour and encountered no problems.

The flights had been planned for some time and were not carried out in direct relation to China's latest declaration, officials added.

Beijing said on Saturday that it had established an Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) which requires all aircraft flying over the area to obey its orders.
Senkaku Islands territorial dispute Japan China The Senkaku Islands are at the centre of a dispute between China and Japan

The zone covers the Tokyo-controlled Senkakus, where ships and aircraft from the two countries already shadow each other in a potentially dangerous confrontation.

The US has slammed China's declaration as "unnecessarily inflammatory", and has urged Beijing to seek a resolution to the dispute "diplomatically".

"There are regional disputes in that part of the world and those disputes should be resolved diplomatically," White House deputy spokesman Josh Earnest said.
Chinese and Japanese ships sail close to disputed island A Chinese surveillance ship sails near a Japanese coastguard vessel

"There should be in this case plenty of overlapping common ground to reach a resolution that doesn't involve inflammatory, escalating rhetoric."

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

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

[The Stig]

Original story HERE (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25110011) at BBC news


26 November 2013 Last updated at 14:35 ET

US B-52 bombers challenge disputed China air zone

The US has flown two B-52 bombers over disputed islands in the East China Sea in defiance of new Chinese air defence rules, officials say.

China set up its "air defence identification zone" on Saturday insisting that aircraft obey its rules or face "emergency defensive measures".

A Pentagon spokesman said the planes had followed "normal procedures".

The islands, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, are a source of rising tension between the two nations.

Japan has dismissed the Chinese defence zone as "not valid at all" and two of its biggest airlines announced on Tuesday they would heed a request from the government in Tokyo not to implement the new rules.

US Colonel Steve Warren at the Pentagon said Washington had "conducted operations in the area of the Senkakus".

"We have continued to follow our normal procedures, which include not filing flight plans, not radioing ahead and not registering our frequencies," he said.

There had been no response from China, he added.

The aircraft, which were unarmed, had taken off from Guam on Monday and the flight was part of a regular exercise in the area, US defence officials said. Both planes later returned to Guam.

The US - which has more than 70,000 troops in Japan and South Korea - had previously said it would not abide by the Chinese-imposed zone.

No-one should be surprised that the US has acted as it has. Washington's first reaction to China's unilateral extension of its airspace was robust.

The idea that Washington was going to start filing flight plans with China before flying over the East China Sea was a non-starter.

But this is more than just a squabble over flight rules.

Washington is watching China's military build up, its arguments with neighbours, and its "blue-water" ambitions with alarm.

For seven decades the US has been the dominant military power in the region. China has given Washington notice that change is afoot.

Peaceful management of that change is one of the great strategic challenges of the 21st Century.

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel called it a "destabilising attempt to alter the status quo in the region". The White House said it was "unnecessarily inflammatory".

Japan has already lodged a strong protest over what it said was an "escalation" by China.

Taiwan, which also claims the islands, expressed regret at the Chinese move and promised that its military would take measures to protect national security.

In its statement announcing the air defence zone on Saturday, the Chinese defence ministry said aircraft must report a flight plan, "maintain two-way radio communications", and "respond in a timely and accurate manner" to identification inquiries.

"China's armed forces will adopt defensive emergency measures to respond to aircraft that do not co-operate in the identification or refuse to follow the instructions," the statement said.

Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airlines said on Tuesday they would stop filing flight plans demanded by China on routes through the zone following a request from the Japanese government.

Singapore Airlines and Australia's Qantas have both said they will abide by the new rules.

However, Australia summoned the Chinese ambassador on Tuesday to express opposition over the zone.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said "the timing and manner" of China's announcement were "unhelpful in light of current regional tensions".

[NWPilgrim]

B-52 pilot to Chinese monitoring station, "Do you see me now?"



Good.

[MegaCPC]

Seen on another forum:


I like the choice of airplane.

A pair of B-52's is about the biggest, dumbest, most obvious thing they could have put up there. They might as well have painted "FUK YU" on them, and announced their arrival 8 hours in advance. The Chinese must have had them on radar 10 minutes after take off. "Shoot this down motherfucker, it isn't as if you could possibly miss!"

[MegaCPC]

China is sending fighters up (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/28/china-military-sends-air-jets_n_4356939.html)


WASHINGTON, Nov 28 (Reuters) - China's military sent several fighter jets and an early warning aircraft on patrol into disputed air space over the East China Sea on Thursday, the Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported, quoting a spokesman for the People's Liberation Army Air Force.

The move raises the stakes in a standoff with the United States, Japan and South Korea over the zone. Japan and South Korea sent their own military aircraft through the air space on Thursday.

The Chinese patrol mission was "a defensive measure and in line with international common practices," said Shen Jinke, a spokesman for China's air force, in the Xinhua article.

Ties between China and Japan have been strained for months by the dispute over the islands in the East China Sea, called the Diaoyu by China and the Senkaku by Japan. The islands are currently under Japanese administrative control.

China last week unilaterally announced that foreign aircraft - including passenger aircraft - passing over the islands would have to identify themselves to China.

Earlier this week, Washington sent two unarmed B-52 bombers through the airspace without first informing Beijing, a sign of support for its ally Japan.

Although there are risks of a confrontation in the defense zone, U.S. and Chinese military officials have stepped up communication with each other in recent years and are in regular contact to avoid accidental clashes breaking out.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is visiting China, Japan and South Korea next week, and will try to defuse tensions over the issue, senior U.S. administration officials said.

U.S. officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday's Chinese flight, which Xinhua described as "normal air patrols" in the new air defense zone Beijing has declared.

The article said China's air force is "on high alert and will take measures to deal with diverse air threats to firmly protect the security of the country's airspace." (Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by David Brunnstrom, Marguerita Choy and Paul Simao)

[bacpacker]

Yeah Uncle Joe will take of things for us. Well maybe npt.