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发帖数: 10330 | 1 Australia summons Chinese ambassador over airspace announcement
SYDNEY Tue Nov 26, 2013 3:19am EST
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(Reuters) - Australia summoned China's ambassador to express concern over
its imposition of an "Air Defence Identification Zone" over the East China
Sea, the foreign minister said on Tuesday, decrying the move as unhelpful in
a region beset by tension.
"The timing and the manner of China's announcement are unhelpful in light of
current regional tensions, and will not contribute to regional stability,"
Julie Bishop said in a statement.
"The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade yesterday called in China's
ambassador to convey the Australian Government's concerns and to seek an
explanation of China's intentions."
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said the ambassador "fully
expounded upon China's considerations and aims in setting up the East China
Sea Air Defence Inspection Zone, and expounded upon our position and
viewpoints".
"(I) hope Australia can correctly understand (our motives), and work
together to protect flight safety in the relevant zone. We also hope that
Australia can actively work towards regional peace and stability," he told a
daily news briefing in Beijing.
Aviation officials on Monday said Asian airlines would inform China of their
flight plans before entering airspace over waters disputed with Japan,
effectively acknowledging Beijing's authority over the newly declared zone.
China published coordinates for the zone on the weekend. The area, about two
-thirds the size of Britain, covers most of the East China Sea and the skies
over a group of uninhabited islands at the center of a bitter row between
Beijing and Tokyo.
China says that the zone will not affect what it calls normal operations of
international flights and has rejected criticism of it from both Washington
and Tokyo.
The official People's Liberation Army Daily said there was no cause for
alarm.
"In the ADIZ, generally there will only be a requirement for flying objects
to report their nationality, position and flight plan, in order to ascertain
position, and make identification and control easier," it wrote in a
commentary.
It said the only countries or people which could possibly be nervous about
this were those who "have covetous hearts".
"If there is no intention of casting greedy eyes on our territory, then why
make expressions of worry?" the newspaper wrote.
China's Defence Ministry says it will also set up other similar zones when
the necessary preparations are completed, though it has yet to provide
details.
(Reporting by Lincoln Feast; Additional reporting by Natalie Thomas, Megha
Rajagopalan and Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by Ron Popeski) |
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