China’s announcement of an air defense identification zone (AIDZ) that covers substantial portions of the East China Sea has unleashed a storm of concern among China’s neighbors — as well as in the United States.
For China’s action reflects the deeper challenge now posed by its growing military capability and international activism. Vice President Joe Biden was on solid ground when he objected strenuously to this new air defense zone during his recent trip to the region.
Washington and Beijing each insists it wants to build a “new kind of major power relationship.” If they are to succeed, however, and enhance peace and stability across the region, they must develop new strategies to manage their growing tensions.
China defended its new defense zone by asserting that its actions are consistent with international law. Beijing’s arguments are unconvincing, however, because they don’t address the reasons why this particular air defense zone is so troubling.
Commentary
Op-edChina’s Air Defense Zone: The Shape of Things to Come?
Michael E. O’Hanlon and
Michael E. O’Hanlon
Director of Research
- Foreign Policy,
Director
- Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology,
Co-Director
- Africa Security Initiative,
Senior Fellow
- Foreign Policy, Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology,
Philip H. Knight Chair in Defense and Strategy
@MichaelEOHanlon
James Steinberg
JS
James Steinberg
University Professor, Social Science, International Affairs, and Law, Syracuse University
December 16, 2013