Taiwan set to reject Chinese ‘air defence zone’ statement

Taiwan’s new defence minister said yesterday the island would not recognise any air defence zone declared by China in the South China Sea, as the island’s top security agency warned such a move could usher in a wave of regional tension.

US officials have expressed concern that an international court ruling expected in weeks on a case brought by the Philippines against China over its South China Sea claims could prompt Beijing to declare an air defence identification zone, as it did over the East China Sea in 2013.

China claims most of the South China Sea, through which €4.4trn in ship-borne trade passes every year.

The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Brunei have overlapping claims, as well as close military ties with Washington.

“We will not recognize any air defence identification zone, by China,” Taiwan defence minister Feng Shih-kuan said in parliament.

The comments came after Taiwan’s new government of president Tsai Ing-wen, of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, was sworn in last month. Ms Tsai’s election victory overturned eight-years of China-friendly Nationalist rule on the self-ruled island.

China, which considers Taiwan a breakaway province, drew condemnation from Japan and the US when it imposed its air defence identification zone, in which aircraft are supposed to identify themselves to Chinese authorities, above the East China Sea.

China has neither confirmed nor denied it plans such a zone for the South China Sea, saying that a decision would be based on the threat level and that it had every right to set one up.

“In the future, we don’t rule out China designating an air defence identification zone. If China is on track to announce this, it could usher in a new wave of tension in the region,” Taiwan’s National Security Bureau said in a report presented to parliament.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei asked whether China would set up a zone for the South China Sea, said many factors needed consideration, especially the level of threat faced in the air.

US secretary of state John Kerry said on Sunday the US would consider a Chinese air defence zone over the South China Sea “provocative and destabilising”.

Speaking at the beginning of a high-level strategic dialogue in Beijing yesterday, Kerry said he would make it clear the US was looking for a peaceful resolution to disputes in the South China Sea.