According to a report from the Wall Street Journal,"after China announced an air defense zone in November, the U.S.demonstrated its displeasure by deliberately entering the air space with an unannounced incursion by a pair of B-52 bombers. As with that dramatic gesture, new Chinese figures suggest the air zone did not deter activity by foreign militaries".
"China’s Defense Ministry said this week it monitored nearly 800 foreign warplanes within the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone during its first month. At a press conference Thursday, Defense Ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng also said China sent 87 of its own aircraft into the area on 51 missions during the period, both for routine patrols and “emergency identification missions.”
“We have had effective monitoring and management of the East China ADIZ and will take corresponding measures in accordance with different air threats to safeguard national air security,” Mr. Geng said.
Countries set up air defense zones as early-warning buffer areas; planes flying through them may be required to identify themselves to distinguish potentially hostile incursions. China says its zone is needed because of evolving military risks in the region , stressing that it doesn’t reflect any new territorial claims by Beijing.
But the U.S. and China’s Asian neighbors charged China with raising risks in an already tense region, in part because its zone overlaps with ones previously declared by Japan and South Korea.
Washington regularly warns that stepped up military activity in and above the East China Sea raises the possibility of accidents and miscalculations.
In the press conference, "the Chinese defense ministry spokesman made no suggestion any dangerous incidents arose from the foreign military flights into the zone. He didn’t characterize any communication with intruding aircraft, or say which sections of the zone were entered".
Source: WSJ
