(China's) ADIZ proves hard to fathom

http://atimes.com/atimes/China/CHIN-01-051213.html



ADIZ proves hard to fathom
By Stefan Soesanto
Dec 5, '13

The creation of China's first Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on November 23 has opened up more questions than answers on the Middle Kingdom's future regional ambitions. While analysts were quick to connect the ADIZ to China's territorial claims in the East China Sea, the size, timing, and extent of enforcement does not seem to line up with Beijing's overall foreign policy interests.

The size of China's ADIZ reveals two particular policy notions. First, the ADIZ is mirroring Beijing's territorial ambitions by including the contested Senkaku/Diaoyu islets and the Ieodo/Suyan rock. Second, except for the contest areas and a large chunk in the middle of nowhere, the Chinese ADIZ is accommodating, to a very large degree, the pre-existing Korean, Japanese and Taiwanese zones.

The problem, however, starts with the status of Taiwan, which although excluded from the Chinese ADIZ, symbolizes Beijing's desire for national unification and territorial integrity. If Beijing excluded Taiwan on the assumption that the island is already an integral part of the People's Republic, then why would the Middle Kingdom need an ADIZ to cement its other territorial claims in the region?

The second problem is the inclusion of the submerged Ieodo/Suyan rock, which lies at the heart of the maritime dispute between the exclusive economic zones of South Korea and China. Although this territorial conflict has been surfacing throughout the years, it has never reached the level of a political row or even diplomatic dispute.