He is a wonderful, serious, you know, member of the Diet, been in the Diet for many years. And I’m very pleased to welcome a very good friend, Takeshi Iwaya. Responding to Egregious Human Rights Abuses.Building Sustainable and Inclusive Democracy.Family Planning, Maternal and Child Health, and Immunizations.Energy, Climate Change, and Environmental Impacts.Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation.Defense Industry, Acquisition, and Innovation.Intelligence, Surveillance, and Privacy.

“The Chinese reaction was that they will not be accepting the (South) Korean side’s demand,” Defence Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok told reporters after talks between Vice Defence Minister Baek Seung-joo and Wang Guanzhong, the deputy chief of general staff of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.Īsked if China would heed Japanese calls to revoke the air defence zone, China’s Defence Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said Tokyo had implemented its own zone in 1969 and blamed it for raising tensions with its double standards. On Thursday, however, Seoul’s vice defence minister told a senior Chinese military official that the move to impose the new rules created military tension in the region and called on Beijing to rectify the zone South Korea’s reaction to Beijing’s weekend declaration has been somewhat muted, reflecting its efforts to forge closer ties with China and a chill in relations with Japan. The rock, called Ieodo in Korea and Suyan Rock in China, is controlled by South Korea, which maintains a maritime research station built on it.Īsked about the South Korean flight, Chinese spokesman Qin only said that Beijing was aware of it. BEIJING REJECTS SEOUL’S DEMANDĪ South Korean official also said a navy reconnaissance plane had flown over a submerged rock in the area claimed by both Beijing and Seoul, and that the flights would continue. “We are not going to change this (activity) out of consideration to China,” he added. “They are carrying out surveillance activity as before in the East China Sea, including the zone,” Suga told a news conference, adding there has been no particular response from China. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said naval ships and patrol planes have been operating in the East China Sea and would continue to do so. We hope that relevant countries’ airlines can proactively cooperate, so there is more order and safety for flights,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters. “The East China Sea Air Defence Identification zone is not aimed at normal international flights. Japan’s two biggest airlines have already begun defying that order. Graphic: China's new air defense zone - /byr84vĪlso on Thursday, China rejected South Korea’s demand for the repeal of the zone, but appeared to soften its demand that commercial aircraft tell its military authorities of any plans to transit the area. Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to Japan, China and South Korea next week. The developments are expected to dominate U.S. The United States does not take a position on the sovereignty of the islands but recognises Tokyo’s administrative control and has assured Japan that the U.S.-Japan security pact covers them. Japan and the United States have sharply criticised the move, which some experts said was aimed not only at chipping away at Tokyo’s control of the islands, known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyu in China, but also at challenging U.S. Tensions have ratcheted up since Beijing’s weekend announcement of the zone that includes the skies over islands at the heart of a feud between Japan and China, and its demand that planes flying in the area first notify Chinese authorities. The move came after Tokyo’s close ally Washington defied China’s demand that airplanes flying through its unilaterally announced zone identify themselves to Chinese authorities, flying two unarmed B-52 bombers over the islands on Tuesday without informing Beijing. A group of disputed islands, Uotsuri island (top), Minamikojima (bottom) and Kitakojima, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China is seen in the East China Sea, in this photo taken by Kyodo September 2012.

Japan inner defense zone