By Ankit Panda
China says that reports of a South China Sea ADIZ being imminent are baseless rumors.
In response to reports by Japan’s Asahi Shimbun that a South China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) was imminent, following on the heels of the East China Sea ADIZ, China has accused Japan of spreading rumors. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei, in a press release quoted by Xinhua, said that “We sternly warned these forces not to mislead public opinions with rumors and play up tensions for their own selfish benefit.” The Diplomat reported on Asahi’s initial report, which it said emerged from several Chinese government sources including “one senior official in a government-affiliated research institution,” on Friday.
To recap, the initial report by Asahi alleges that the very same institution that devised the East China Sea ADIZ–the Air Force Command College–has been working on a South China Sea analogue and submitted a draft of plans to military leaders as of May 2013. The report seemed widely credible considering that following the implementation of the East China Sea ADIZ, Chinese defense spokesman Yang Yujun, in a question and answer session on November 23, 2013, said that “China will establish other Air Defense Identification Zones at the right moment after necessary preparations are completed.”
The declaration by the Chinese Foreign Ministry puts China in a somewhat difficult position. Essentially, Hong Lei’s statements seem to unambiguously deny any plans for a South China Sea ADIZ. Should China implement such an ADIZ in the future, it would only face the prospect of losing greater trust in the region. That the Chinese foreign ministry would go to the trouble of condemning Asahi’s report as the machinations of deluded “right-wing forces” in Japan might indicate that China is sincere about the prospect of not establishing an ADIZ over the South China Sea as many have come to fear. On the flip side, it could indicate a rift between Chinese foreign ministry officials and their defense counterparts–the original indication that China would pursue additional air defense zones came from a defense ministry spokesman.
Read the full story at The Diplomat