South Korea announces expansion of air defense zone
After China created its air defense zone, South Korea enlarges its own further south, overlapping China’s.South Korea will expand its air defense zone, Defense Ministry says
The South’s decision, widely expected after a week of government discussions, marks the latest move in a regional struggle over airspace above the East China Sea.
Photos of the day
China pollution, Kiev protesters destroy Lenin statue, winter weather, Kim Jong Un’s uncle purged and more.North Korea announces purge of Kim Jong Un’s uncle
With vivid detail, North Korea describes the “anti-state” crimes of Jang Song Thaek.
Ukrainian protesters want more rules, less corruption
They would have been satisfied with a European trade deal; now they want a new country.
Afghanistan’s ‘Pentagon’ runs out of cash
Despite years of audits, U.S.-funded military projects in Afghanistan still suffer from poor oversight.
South Korea announces expansion of air defense zone
After China created its air defense zone, South Korea enlarges its own further south, overlapping China’s.France says it will disarm Central African militias
France warns fighters in its former Central African colony to lay down their arms or lose them “by force.”
South Korea plans to hold talks with “related countries” to “prevent accidental military clashes” within the expanded zone, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. The South said the zone, known as an ADIZ, would take effect this coming Sunday.
The U.S. State Department, in a statement released after the South Korean announcement, said it had “conferred” with Seoul on the expansion, including in a meeting Friday between South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Vice President Biden.
“We also appreciate [South Korea’s] commitment to implement this adjustment to its ADIZ in a manner consistent with international practice and respect for the freedom of overflight and other internationally lawful uses of international airspace,” the statement said.
There was no response from China on the move, but a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said Friday that the South’s expansion “should comply with international laws and conventions” and that Beijing is “ready to stay in communication” with Seoul.
China two weeks ago declared its own ADIZ across a wide section of the East China Sea — a move that Seoul, Tokyo and Washington have protested. China’s new aerial zone includes a rock 15 feet below the water’s surface known internationally as Socotra. The formation lies within the economic zones of both China and South Korea, and it has long been a point of modest contention between the neighbors.
The rock is controlled by South Korea, where it is known as Ieodo. Seoul uses the site as an oceanic research center, having constructed an orange tower of beams and a helipad atop the rock in 2003. The research center has solar panels, wind monitors, barometric sensors and a solar radiation measurement system, and the monitoring data are displayed in real time on a government Web site.
Before the expansion, South Korea’s ADIZ did not include the submerged rock. For that reason, many lawmakers here said the zone was in need of an update. The South Korean ADIZ was drawn up in 1951 by the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War and overlaps with the southern part of North Korea.
COPY http://www.washingtonpost.com
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário