Air defense zone is a firewall and buffer
- By Luo Yuan
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E-mail China.org.cn, November 27, 2013
If China continues to put off establishing an ADIZ, it will be in a passive position in case of a conflict. Also, setting up the zone is for the sake of protecting Chinese pilots, and keeping international civil aviation in order.
Other countries have no right to judge China's establishment of its own ADIZ. The White House claimed China's act would impede the interests of the United States and its allies.
But since China and the U.S. are oceans apart, how could China's ADIZ, at China's doorstep, affect U.S. interests?
U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel claimed on Saturday that China's act was a "destabilizing attempt to alter the status quo in the region" and "unilateral action" would increase "the risk of misunderstanding and miscalculations." Hagel added that the existence of the zone would not in any way "change how the United States conducts military operations in the region."
We should ask the Americans: Was the establishment of Japan's ADIZ in 1969 a unilateral attempt to change the status quo? Was Japan's nationalization of the Diaoyu Islands a unilateral attempt to change the status quo?
Please do not threaten us by saying that China's ADIZ will not "change how the United States conducts military operations in the region," because it is an ADIZ, rather than a no-fly zone, that China has announced.
China has always respected other countries' freedom of the air, and the establishment of the East China Sea ADIZ will not change the nature of the region. As long as U.S. aerial vehicles entering the region comply with related stipulations and cooperate in identifying themselves, there should be no worry. If not, after repeated warnings, China's armed forces will take defensive emergency measures. The rule applies to aerial vehicles from all countries, regardless of its purpose - whether for exercise or provocation.
China will live up to its words, and China urges other countries not to push their luck. Threats never work for us.
The author is the Deputy Chairman of China Strategic Culture Promotion Association, and a major general in the PLA.
The post was translated by Chen Boyuan. Its original version was published in Chinese.
Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn
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