Biden in Tokyo Conveys U.S. Concern Over China Air Zone
By Isabel Reynolds - Dec 3, 2013
Vice President Joseph Biden expressed U.S. opposition to China’s declaration of a new air defense zone and sought to assure Japan of American support.
The U.S. is “deeply concerned by the attempt to unilaterally change the status quo in the East China Sea,” Biden said yesterday in Tokyo as he met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. “This action has raised regional tensions and increased the risk of accidents and miscalculation.”
The vice president’s trip, originally intended to focus on pinning down a trade deal and a renewed U.S. emphasis on Asia, has been overshadowed by China’s extension of the defense zone into airspace over islands claimed by both China and Japan. The move has strained relations between the world’s second and third-largest economies and raised the risk of a confrontation in the East China Sea.
Biden departs for Beijing today, where he is scheduled to meet with Chinese officials to seek clarity about their intentions surrounding the zone even as he seeks to smooth ties.
Commercial air carriers have been thrust into the middle of the dispute, with U.S. airlines notifying China before flying into the zone as Japan tells its carriers not to supply such data. China has said it hopes civilian airlines will notify authorities when they fly through the zone, though it’s backed down from tougher demands for compliance made when the zone was announced Nov. 23.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-03/biden-to-stress-opposition-to-china-defense-zone-in-japan-visit.html