US responds sternly to China’s declaration of airspace

Posted on : 2013-11-28 18:09 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Though G2 say they’re working toward an alliance, recent case shows antagonism when key interests are on the line

By Park Hyun, Washington correspondent

The G2 states look poised for a conflict over Northeast Asia, with the US responding to China’s declaration of an air defense identification zone in the East China Sea with its own show of force.

At a summit in June, US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed in principle to a “new type of great power relationship.” Taking a lesson from historical conflicts between established and emerging powers, they opted to look for a path to peaceful coexistence.

But the latest confrontation over the air defense identification zone shows what weak footing their cooperation stands on when key interests are at stake.

The US’s decision to respond just two days after the announcement by staging a show of force with B-52 bombers, an advanced strategic weapon, shows how seriously Washington is taking the situation.

Its concern seems to be that tolerating the one declaration could lead to more shows of muscle from China to its neighbors in the interest of “upholding territorial sovereignty.” Indeed, China has already said it plans to expand its air defense identification zone into the West (Yellow) Sea and South China Sea.

Another worry from Washington is that its security treaty with Japan could lead to it being dragged into a conflict with China over the disputed Senkaku Islands (called Diaoyu in China). The desire to quiet concerns from allies South Korea and Japan about the Chinese threat is another factor.

The Wall Street Journal quoted an official in the US Defense Department as saying the deployment of the B-52s “risked a potentially destabilizing response by the Chinese. But the move also may have calmed tensions in the region by reassuring US allies.”

The reason Washington responded so sternly could be because it views China’s declaration as tied to its own key interests.

For the past two years, the US has adopted a policy of a “pivot to Asia” - depending its economic ties with the rising economic powers in the region and trying to check Chinese influence there. The US alliance with Japan, a key pillar in its Northeast Asia policy, has grown in importance as the US struggles underneath a massive deficit.

Meanwhile, China is looking to expand its influence. In 2010, it defined the South and East China Seas as “core interests” where it could not make any concessions. Its first aim is to break through the so-called “first island chain” linking Japan, Okinawa, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Borneo, which the US set in 1951 to contain communist expansion.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, said on Nov. 26 that the US appeared to view China’s air defense identification zone declaration as part of a deliberate strategy to bolster territorial claims - and to test Japan’s resolve and alliance with the US.

In particular, it noted Chinese official documents showing Beijing’s judgment that the country has a “period of strategic opportunity extending through 2020 in which a benign external security environment allows it to focus on its internal development,” but added, “These writings also suggest that the period of strategic opportunity is under unprecedented stress and that the U.S. rebalance is the source of that stress.”

The Chinese declaration was viewed as a response to the stress.

Tensions in US diplomatic and security agencies are reported to be high. US officials have called China’s announcement a “unilateral measure,” the fallout from which is seen as likely to hinder progress on key issues between the US and China. Observers were especially dismayed to see the events happening at a time when the countries are supposed to be forming a “new type of great power relationship.” This helps explain why the White House, State Department, and Defense Department all came out at the same time on Nov. 24 with statements criticizing China’s air defense identification zone decision.

A Nov. 20 report on US-China military cooperation by the US Congressional Research Service said the US had worked to build a strong military relationship with China over the past 30 years, but failed to check aggressive actions in disputed maritime regions.

 

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