China reserves the right to establish an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the South China Sea, a move that would raise tensions in a region wracked by territorial disputes.
“China is entitled to set up ADIZs,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Thursday. “A decision in this regard depends on whether the air safety is threatened and to what extent it is threatened.”
Seven Philippine patrol planes on separate flights over the Spratly islands in the South China Sea have been warned by China in radio messages to stay away, Vice Admiral Alexander Lopez told a Senate hearing Thursday. In November, 2013, China established an ADIZ to cover disputed islands in the adjacent East China Sea, prompting protests from Japan and its treaty ally, the US.
The warnings are set to escalate frictions in the South China Sea, which China claims almost all despite ownership assertions from several other nations, and which is home to some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. China is creating artificial islands in the area, with satellite photos showing dredgers reclaiming land in seven areas.
“This is a cause for concern because China acts like there’s an ADIZ although there has been no formal declaration,” Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said. Gazmin said he was aware of at least two instances involving Philippine planes.
Manila Bulletin
