China is considering declaring a new air defense identification zone over the South China Sea, according to a Japanese report yesterday, a move likely to fan tensions in an area riven by territorial disputes.
The report comes months after Beijing caused consternation with the sudden declaration of an air defense identification zone above the East China Sea, covering islands at the center of a sovereignty row with Tokyo.
It also comes as countries in the region grow increasingly concerned about what they see as China’s aggressive territorial claims.
Working-level officials in the Chinese air force have drafted proposals for the new zone, which could set the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島), also claimed by Taiwan, at its core and spread over much of the sea, the Asahi Shimbun said, citing unnamed sources, including from the Chinese government.
The draft was submitted to senior Chinese military officials by May last year, the daily said.
Beijing claims the South China Sea almost in its entirety, even areas a long way from its shoreline.
The countries surrounding the sea have competing and overlapping claims to the area and are in dispute with Beijing, including over the ownership of islands.
The draft says the zone would at a minimum cover the Paracels, and could go as wide as the majority of the South China Sea, the newspaper said.
Beijing is still deliberating the extent of the zone and considering the timing of an announcement, the paper said.
Japan, South Korea and others reacted with anger in November last year when Beijing unilaterally declared an air defense identification zone in the East China Sea.
China demanded that all aircraft provide flight plans when traversing the area, give their nationality and maintain two-way radio communication, or face “emergency defensive measures.”
The US said it would not comply, and, in what was seen as a challenge to Beijing, promptly flew military planes through it.
The zone covers the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台列嶼) claimed by Taiwan, China and Japan — where they are known as the Senkakus.
Beijing’s sudden declaration bolstered claims that China is throwing its growing military weight around. Observers say the establishment of a similar zone in the South China Sea is a likely move for Beijing.
In November last year China’s Hainan Province passed a rule requiring foreign fishing vessels to obtain permission to enter its waters, which it defined as 2 million square kilometers of the sea’s 3.5 million square kilometers. That rule took effect at the beginning of this year, drawing protests from the US, the Philippines and Vietnam.
China announced last month that it would base a 5,000-tonne civilian patrol ship on Woody Island (永興島, Yongxing Island) in the Paracels and begin regular patrols.
In December last year, US Secretary of State John Kerry warned China against any move to declare an air defense zone over the South China Sea.
Additional reporting by staff writer
‘ABUSE OF POWER’: Lee Chun-yi allegedly used a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon and take his wife to restaurants, media reports said Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) resigned on Sunday night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by the media. Control Yuan Vice President Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) yesterday apologized to the public over the issue. The watchdog body would follow up on similar accusations made by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and would investigate the alleged misuse of government vehicles by three other Control Yuan members: Su Li-chiung (蘇麗瓊), Lin Yu-jung (林郁容) and Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋), Lee Hung-chun said. Lee Chun-yi in a statement apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a
EUROPEAN TARGETS: The planned Munich center would support TSMC’s European customers to design high-performance, energy-efficient chips, an executive said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said that it plans to launch a new research-and-development (R&D) center in Munich, Germany, next quarter to assist customers with chip design. TSMC Europe president Paul de Bot made the announcement during a technology symposium in Amsterdam on Tuesday, the chipmaker said. The new Munich center would be the firm’s first chip designing center in Europe, it said. The chipmaker has set up a major R&D center at its base of operations in Hsinchu and plans to create a new one in the US to provide services for major US customers,
BEIJING’S ‘PAWN’: ‘We, as Chinese, should never forget our roots, history, culture,’ Want Want Holdings general manager Tsai Wang-ting said at a summit in China The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday condemned Want Want China Times Media Group (旺旺中時媒體集團) for making comments at the Cross-Strait Chinese Culture Summit that it said have damaged Taiwan’s sovereignty, adding that it would investigate if the group had colluded with China in the matter and contravened cross-strait regulations. The council issued a statement after Want Want Holdings (旺旺集團有限公司) general manager Tsai Wang-ting (蔡旺庭), the third son of the group’s founder, Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明), said at the summit last week that the group originated in “Chinese Taiwan,” and has developed and prospered in “the motherland.” “We, as Chinese, should never
‘A SURVIVAL QUESTION’: US officials have been urging the opposition KMT and TPP not to block defense spending, especially the special defense budget, an official said The US plans to ramp up weapons sales to Taiwan to a level exceeding US President Donald Trump’s first term as part of an effort to deter China as it intensifies military pressure on the nation, two US officials said on condition of anonymity. If US arms sales do accelerate, it could ease worries about the extent of Trump’s commitment to Taiwan. It would also add new friction to the tense US-China relationship. The officials said they expect US approvals for weapons sales to Taiwan over the next four years to surpass those in Trump’s first term, with one of them saying