Joe Biden arrives in China amid air zone tensions

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/04/joebiden-usforeignpolicy

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The US vice-president, Joe Biden, has arrived in Beijing to meet senior leaders and attempt to reduce regional frictions sparked by China's new air defence zone.

Following an official welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People, he will meet vice-president Li Yuanchao and then the president, Xi Jinping. He will meet the premier, Li Keqiang, on Thursday, in what was originally supposed to be a trip focusing on economic issues before flying on to Seoul.

Speaking on Tuesday from Tokyo, the first stop on his six-day north-east Asia tour, Biden said the US and Japan would work together to prevent any attempt by China to change the status quo in the Asia-Pacific region.

A state-run Chinese newspaper warned on Wednesday that Biden should not expect to make progress in defusing tensions if he repeats "erroneous and one-sided remarks".

The English language China Daily – often used to communicate messages to the outside world – added in its editorial: "If the US is truly committed to lowering tensions in the region it must first stop acquiescing to Tokyo's dangerous brinkmanship. It must stop emboldening belligerent Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to constantly push the envelope of Japan's encroachments and provocations."<br /> <br />On Tuesday defence ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng issued a lengthy statement attacking misunderstandings and distortions" about the zone.

He added that China's military was "fully capable of exercising effective control" over the area.

The statement reiterated that the zone was not aimed at any specific country, but added: "A very few countries must earnestly reflect on their actions and correct their wrong remarks and wrongdoings. Other parties concerned should also mind their words and actions … Other parties should not be incited, or send wrong signals to make a very few countries go further on the wrong track."

The long-running dispute between Tokyo and Beijing over islands in the East China Sea that are known as the Senkaku to the Japanese and Diaoyu to China intensified in late November when Beijing announced it had created the air defence zone, which takes in skies over the islands.<br /> <br />The US does not want the row to escalate but is concerned about China's rising power and assertiveness in the region.

Washington has been downplaying reports of disagreements between the US and Japan over the issue; a senior administration official travelling with Biden insisted there was "no daylight" between the two countries.

Earlier in the day Biden told reporters in Tokyo that the US-Japanese security arrangement was "the cornerstone of security not merely in the Pacific basic but the cornerstone upon which our security is built for the next 20 years or more".

A second senior official said the US intended to call on China to "exercise restraint" and "avoid any other destabilising actions", including new declarations of air defence zones.

However Biden and officials travelling with him have stopped short of calling on Beijing to "rescind" its declaration – a demand made by the state department on Monday.

Speaking in Tokyo, Biden said he was "deeply concerned" about China's abrupt imposition of the zone, saying it would raise regional tensions and increase the risk of accidents and miscalculation.

Biden said he would raise US concerns with "great specificity" when he met the Chinese president.<br />China has rebuffed US calls to rescind the procedures governing the air defence zone.

The White House spokesman, Jay Carney, described the Chinese announcement of the zone as "a provocative attempt to unilaterally change the status quo" that increased the risk of inadvertent confrontation.

But on Tuesday the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Hong Lei, told reporters: "It is not China that has escalated the regional tensions. It is that some countries keep playing on the issue for their selfish gains, and China is firmly opposed to them doing that."<br /> <br />Hong urged other countries to respect China's actions, which he described as "justifiable and lawful". He added: "China established it [the zone] to safeguard sovereignty and the freedom and order of flight in the related airspace."

Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, said he and Biden had "confirmed we should not tolerate any attempt by China to change the status quo unilaterally by force".

The US raised hackles in Tokyo when it emerged that three US civilian airlines, acting on government advice, were complying with Chinese regulations and identifying their aircraft before flying through the zone. Japan, by contrast, has urged Japanese airlines to ignore China's demands to submit flight plans in advance.

US officials have insisted the move does not indicate "US government acceptance of China's requirements". To underline Washington's opposition two B-52 bombers flew into the area last week without notifying Chinese authorities. Japanese and South Korean military jets also flew through the zone in defiance of Chinese regulations.

"China's declaration of an air defence identification zone is an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo, which can invite unexpected situations and is an extremely dangerous act," Japan's chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, told reporters before Biden's meeting with Abe.

Washington does not take a position on the sovereignty of the strategically important islands, which are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and potentially large gas and mineral deposits, but recognises Japan's administrative control over the territories and has said their bilateral security pact covers the islands.

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