Rep. Randy Forbes: Don’t Break Ranks With Allies In Face Of China’s ADIZ

http://breakingdefense.com/2013/12/rep-randy-forbes-dont-break-ranks-with-allies-in-face-of-chinas-adiz/



Rep. Randy Forbes: Don’t Break Ranks With Allies In Face Of China’s ADIZ
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
on December 03, 2013 at 6:30 PM

WASHINGTON: As the crisis over China’s self-declared “air defense identification zone” hits its tenth day with no signs of de-escalation, leading Republican lawmaker Rep. Randy Forbes questioned an apparent concession by the administration over commercial flights. Meanwhile, South Korea is contemplating expanding its own long-standing ADIZ to challenge China’s — but it might do so in a way that would cause conflict between Seoul and Tokyo as well. So while the US, Japan, and South Korea have presented a united front so far; they may not be able to keep it up as the stand-off drags on.

All three democracies have now flown military aircraft through China’s new ADIZ without complying with Beijing’s demand to file flight plans in advance and to communicate via radio once in the zone. The issue between the allies is whether commercial flights should follow China’s unilaterally declared rules (reprinted here on the FAA website).

The governments of Japan and, more quietly, South Korea have gotten their national airlines not to. The US State Department, however, just quietly reiterated the longstanding US policy that airlines should comply with all countries’ flight rules — which presumably would include the new ones put out by China, although State didn’t say so outright.

That ambiguity prompted a pointed inquiry by influential by Forbes, chairman of the House Armed Services subcommittee on seapower and leader of HASC’s outreach to Asia-Pacific ambassadors.