China to Set Up Air Defense Identification Zone in South China Sea

China is brewing an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) for South China Sea, but said that the declaration would depend on the United States’ actions.

A report from the South China Morning Post cited insiders knowledgeable with the inner workings of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) who revealed China's plans on the South China Sea version of the ADIZ as a response to the U.S.

According to one of the sources, the timing of the declaration would depend on the U.S. actions related to maritime disputes with China's neighbor countries who also claim sovereignty in seas and islands in the region.

"If the U.S. military keeps making provocative moves to challenge China's sovereignty in the region, it will give Beijing a good opportunity to declare an ADIZ in the South China Sea," the source stated.

Air Defense Identification Zone

While it may not be new to people who have been monitoring China's maritime bouts in the East China Sea, some may be still unaware of what an ADIZ really is and what its implications are for other countries.

In a special report, the Financial Times explained that China is not the first country to establish an ADIZ.

According to the report, many coutries like Japan and the U.S. have declared their own airspace identification zone to serve as an early warning system for "possible incursions into its sovereign airspace."

"It stretches beyond the boundary of a country's national airspace," the outlet explained. "When an aircraft enters an ADIZ without warning, the country in question may scramble fighter jets to visually identify the aircraft and determine whether it poses a threat."

While it gives the nation the power to seek identification, it does not give it the legal rights to shoot down any aircraft that enters their airspace without prior notice.

China's ADIZ in the East China Sea is a little bit different from others since it also requires commercial flights passing through their airspace to provide notification ahead even if the aircraft's final destination is another country.

Timing of Declaration

According to the SCMP report, the unnamed sources' information was verified by the Chinese Ministry of Defense, who made a written response to the outlet's query regarding the timing of the ADIZ declaration.

"Regarding when to declare such a zone, it will depend on whether China is facing security threats from the air, and what the level of the air safety threat is," the ministry said, adding that declaring such zone is "the right of a sovereign state."

China's first ADIZ was set up in the East China Sea late in 2013 in order to protect the Diaoyu Islands, which Japan also claims to be its territory.

Because the Japanese control the uninhabited isles they call Senkakus, China's declaration of ADIZ incited outrage not only in Tokyo but also in its allies, including Washington and Seoul.