US warns China over plans in SCS

The United States yesterday warned China over its plan to establish an air identification zone (ADIZ) over the South China Sea, saying this impinges on international airspace and impacts all nations in the region.

China justified on Monday the right to establish an ADIZ, citing air security threats Beijing faces above waters of the disputed South China Sea.

But Gen. Charles Brown Jr., US Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) commander, argued that “if the PRC (China) were to claim an ADIZ in the South China Sea, it impacts all of the nations” and goes against a free and open IndoPacific to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows.

“And this kind of (action) impinges upon some of the international airspace, and it impacts not just the PACAF, but all of the nations in the region,” Brown said in a telephone press briefing.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not confirm a report that China is likely to impose an ADIZ but said it is the right of every country.

Zhao Lijian, the agency’s spokesperson, said “every country has the right to establish an ADIZ and to decide whether to establish an ADIZ based on the intensity of the threats it faces in air defense security.”

“In the light of the air security threats China faces above relevant waters of the South China Sea, China will carefully and prudently study the relevant issue, taking into account all factors,” he explained.

China’s ADIZ will oblige aircraft flying over the South China Sea to report flight plans to China and abide by its domestic procedures or face defensive emergency measures from China’s armed forces.

In January 2016, former foreign affairs secretary Albert del Rosario warned of a situation where China would take the position that ADIZ could be imposed if it was not challenged.