Chinese Foreign Ministry: No South China Sea ADIZ

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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.”

 

Read more: http://thediplomat.com/2014/02/chinese-foreign-ministry-no-south-china-sea-adiz/

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