would prefer that both sides win-or, more precisely, that they not fight.
Back then, as the wisecrack held, the U.S. reaction, including the bombers? The worsening Japan-China struggles are, for the United States, the opposite of the cynical view of the 1980s Iran-Iraq war.
Taiwan air defense zone map plus#
But at least in the short term, it appears to have alarmed the South Koreans, with whom Chinese relations had been steadily warming, plus introducing new friction into China's most important relationship, which is with the United States.Ĥ) So what about the U.S. Whether it seems, either now or later, worthwhile from the Chinese leadership's perspective I have no idea. This ADIZ case may become the next famous example. By acting super-tough, the Chinese military made its real situation weaker.
The result of this "over-reach" episode, as it is described now even in China, was to bring Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and other countries into closer alignment with the U.S. looked like a house of cards and the Chinese military made a number of expansionist-seeming moves in the South China Sea that quickly got the attention of neighboring countries. The Chinese economy recovered much more quickly than others the U.S. One famous illustration followed the world financial crisis of 2008. In brief: the very steps that, from an internal Chinese-government perspective, are intended to make it seem confident, powerful, and attractive often have exactly the opposite effect on audiences outside China. But for now that is guesswork rather than knowledge.ģ) Is this likely to do China any good? The puzzling nature of Chinese foreign policy, especially its generally self-defeating "soft power" aspects, is a subject too vast for our purposes right now. The ADIZ move is is a big enough step that Xi Jinping himself would presumably have been aware of it, and again-presumably would have thought it a worthwhile demonstration of Chinese "strength" and refusal to be pushed around. Most people think that newish president Xi Jinping enjoys more support from the military than his predecessor-which most outsiders consider to be a good thing, since it reduces the chance of the military setting policy or creating new realities on its own.* (Remember, the People's Liberation Army technically is commanded by the Chinese Communist Party, not the Chinese state.) The concept of a civilian commander-in-chief is not built into China's governing structure. The lines of authority and communication between civilian and military officials in China are murky in the best of circumstances. As for the immediate reasons for this move, no one outside the central leadership can say with any certainty, and perhaps not even anyone there. But some stories have suggested that it would lead to an immediate struggle or challenge over the right to fly, which it (probably) will not.Ģ) Why are the Chinese doing this? As a general proposition, this is of course one more sign of worsening relations between China and Japan, focused in this case on the tiny islands both countries claim to control.
So this move is aggressive and expansionist, in asserting a Chinese government right to know who is traveling in its (enlarged) vicinity.
"Control" in this sense means subject to the directions of an Air Traffic Controller-"turn right, heading 270"-rather than something more forceful. It doesn't necessarily mean that flights are going to be challenged or interfered with.įor reference, here is the way the ADIZs around the continental United States look:Īir defense identification zone means an area of airspace over land or water in which the ready identification, location, and control of civil aircraft is required in the interest of national security. The idea is to create an area where the relevant authorities have a right to know who is flying, and where they are going.
Taiwan air defense zone map full#
All four words in its full title are important, including the least obvious third one: Air Defense Identification Zone. A few points to bear in mind as you follow the story:ġ) What is an ADIZ, anyway? Many news stories have presented the ADIZ as if it were comparable to a no-fly zone, or an extension of territorial sovereignty. This is a strange development-China's establishment over the weekend of an ADIZ, or Air Defense Identification Zone, in an expanded area of the East China Sea, eliciting alarmed reactions from Japan, the United States (which today sent two B-52s through the zone), South Korea, and other countries in the region. Chinese map of its new Air Defense Identification Zone, from Xinhua.
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