According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, "China said it sent some of its most advanced fighter jets and an early warning aircraft into its new air-defense zone on Thursday, after Japan and South Korea said they had dispatched military planes to the area over the past few days without notifying Beijing".
'A defense ministry spokesman said China had "identified" all foreign aircraft entering the ADIZ, at the center of a fierce territorial dispute between Tokyo and Beijing.
But Col. Yang Yujun, a defense ministry spokesman, told a monthly news conference that the ADIZ wasn't a no-fly zone or an extension of China's airspace. He said it was "incorrect" to suggest China could shoot down planes in the zone.
China's declaration of the new zone has sparked protests from the U.S. and several of its allies, many of whom see it as an escalatory move that could increase the risk of a military confrontation in the region.
At the same time, Chinese leaders are facing pressure from a nationalistic public at home, with many social-media users asking why the military didn't respond to the Japanese or South Korean incursions, or one by two U.S. B-52 bombers on Tuesday.
Col. Yang also provided a slight elaboration of the zone's rules, which state that all aircraft there must identify themselves and their flight plans and obey instructions from the Chinese military or face unspecified "defensive emergency measures."
He said the measures would include identifying, monitoring, supervising and "dealing with" hostile or unidentified aircraft in the zone. "As to what kind of specific measures will be taken, that will be decided based on the specific situation and the extent of the threat being faced at the time," he said".
"The Chinese side has carried out prompt identification of every country's aircraft that has entered the East China Sea ADIZ, and we have a firm grasp of the situation regarding relevant aircraft," Col. Yang said
