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
AIR DEFENSE: The Norwegian missile system has proved highly effective in Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the US has recommended it for Taiwan, an expert said The Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) Taiwan ordered from the US would be installed in strategically important positions in Taipei and New Taipei City to guard the region, the Ministry of National Defense said in statement yesterday. The air defense system would be deployed in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) and New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), the ministry said, adding that the systems could be delivered as soon as the end of this year. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency has previously said that three NASAMS would be sold to Taiwan. The weapons are part of the 17th US arms sale to
INSURRECTION: The NSB said it found evidence the CCP was seeking snipers in Taiwan to target members of the military and foreign organizations in the event of an invasion The number of Chinese spies prosecuted in Taiwan has grown threefold over a four-year period, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday. In 2021 and 2022, 16 and 10 spies were prosecuted respectively, but that number grew to 64 last year, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working with gangs in Taiwan to develop a network of armed spies. Spies in Taiwan have on behalf of the CCP used a variety of channels and methods to infiltrate all sectors of the country, and recruited Taiwanese to cooperate in developing organizations and obtaining sensitive information
BREAKTHROUGH: The US is making chips on par in yield and quality with Taiwan, despite people saying that it could not happen, the official said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has begun producing advanced 4-nanometer (nm) chips for US customers in Arizona, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said, a milestone in the semiconductor efforts of the administration of US President Joe Biden. In November last year, the commerce department finalized a US$6.6 billion grant to TSMC’s US unit for semiconductor production in Phoenix, Arizona. “For the first time ever in our country’s history, we are making leading edge 4-nanometer chips on American soil, American workers — on par in yield and quality with Taiwan,” Raimondo said, adding that production had begun in recent
Seven hundred and sixty-four foreigners were arrested last year for acting as money mules for criminals, with many entering Taiwan on a tourist visa for all-expenses-paid trips, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said on Saturday. Although from Jan. 1 to Dec. 26 last year, 26,478 people were arrested for working as money mules, the bureau said it was particularly concerned about those entering the country as tourists or migrant workers who help criminals and scammers pick up or transfer illegally obtained money. In a report, officials divided the money mules into two groups, the first of which are foreigners, mainly from Malaysia
RSS