By Zachary Keck
The East China Sea ADIZ effectively cuts off US forces in Japan and South Korea from Taiwan.
Most have assumed that China’s establishment of an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea is aimed at Japan the bilateral dispute over the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands. There’s good reason for this: China has apparently said as much.
Although China at first claimed that the ADIZ was not aimed at any particular country, when it was asked by South Korea to redraw the lines of the ADIZ Chinese officials reportedly responded by assuring their counterparts in Seoul that the ADIZ was aimed at Japan not South Korea.
Many of China’s harshest responses to criticism over the East China Sea ADIZ have been directed at Japan as well. For example, last week a Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson said: “Japan has absolutely no right to make irresponsible comments regarding China setting up the East China Sea ADIZ. We would like to ask Japan to revoke its own ADIZ first, China will then consider this request in 44 years.” Then there’s the fact that China has been waging an unrelenting campaign to isolate Japan from the region, along with the Philippines.
In all reality, the East China Sea ADIZ is likely aimed in no small part at Japan in general and the Senkaku Islands in particular. Still, there’s another more important factor at play here for China: Taiwan.
Read the full story at The Diplomat