US asks planes to comply with China zone

BEIJING — The United States advised U.S. carriers to comply with China’s demand that it be told of any flights passing through its new maritime air defense zone over the East China Sea, an area where Beijing said it launched two fighter planes to investigate a dozen American and Japanese reconnaissance and military flights.

It was the first time since proclaiming the zone Nov. 23 that China said it sent planes there on the same day as foreign military flights, although it said it merely identified the foreign planes and took no further action.

China announced two weeks ago that all aircraft entering the zone — a maritime area between China, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan — must notify Chinese authorities beforehand and that it would take unspecified defensive measures against those that don’t comply. Neighboring countries and the U.S. have said they will not honor the new zone — believed aimed at claiming disputed territory — and have said it unnecessarily raises tensions.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement Friday that the U.S. remained deeply concerned about China’s declared air identification zone. But she said it is advising U.S. air carriers abroad to comply with notification requirements issued by China.

On Wednesday, Psaki had said the U.S. government was working to determine whether the new rules applied to civil aviation.

In Washington, a Pentagon spokesman, Army Col. Steve Warren, said when asked about China’s statement: “The U.S. will continue to partner with our allies and will operate in the area as normal.”