Chinese Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) and Indian concern

Recently, China had been in news, as usual not for good reasons, regarding its ADIZ claim in East China Sea. Its recent announcement of an Air Defense Identification Zone in the East China Sea has generated a great deal of confusion and alarm. So, several questions arise about ADIZ, which are as follows:

What is an ADIZ?

An ADIZ is a publicly defined area extending beyond national territory in which unidentified aircraft are liable to be interrogated and, if necessary, intercepted for identification before they cross into sovereign airspace. 

What is the reason to have an ADIZ?

The concept born during the Cold War era (in the 1950s), when the United States declared the world’s first ADIZs in order to reduce the risk of a surprise attack from the Soviet Union. An ADIZ is useful for:

1. Reducing the risk of midair collisions, 
2. combating illicit drug flows, 
3. search-and-rescue missions, and 
4. reducing the need for fighter jet sorties for purposes of visual inspection. This last point is the most important: ADIZs can increase transparency, predictability, and strategic stability by reducing uncertainty on both sides about when, where, and how aerial interceptions might take place. In 1960, for example, the Soviet Union had no clearly established air defense identification zones and procedures, and the resulting confusion led to a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft being shot down over international waters.

Which countries have ADIZ?

The countries having ADIZ include:

1. 
   United States has five zones (East Coast, West Coast, Alaska, Hawaii, and Guam) and operates two more jointly with Canada. 
2. India, 
3. Japan, 
4. Norway, 
5. Pakistan, 
6. South Korea, 
7. Taiwan, and 
8. the United Kingdom. 
   
   
   
   
   
   

What are the rules and regulations of International law on this point?

ADIZ is not governed by any international agreements. Neither there is any explicit authorization for countries to establish them nor are they explicitly prohibited from doing so. ADIZs usually extend into what is universally acknowledged to be international airspace, even by the countries that maintain them, and in no way confer any sovereign rights. Countries have the right to regulate air traffic only over their sovereign territory, hence they are not legally obliged to comply with another countries’ ADIZ requirements in international airspace. But they tend to do so because of the security and safety benefits to all.

So why did China establish its East China Sea ADIZ?

The desire to reduce the risk of midair collisions is a suitable explanation. The concern is not regarding commercial air traffic, which is already under good regulation in the East China Sea. Rather, it is military flights, as was demonstrated in 2001 when a U.S. Navy EP-3 collided with an F-8 fighter from the Chinese Navy over the South China Sea. 

The serious incident of April 2001 between the United States and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) involved a collision over the South China Sea between a U.S. Navy EP-3 reconnaissance plane and a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) naval F-8 fighter that crashed.  After surviving the near-fatal accident, the U.S. crew made an emergency  landing of  their damaged plane onto  the PLA’s Lingshui airfield on Hainan Island, and the PRC detained the 24 crew members for 11 days.  Washington and Beijing disagreed over  the cause of  the accident,  the  release of  the crew and plane, whether Washington would “apologize,” and  the PRC’s  right  to  inspect  the EP-3.  In the longer term, the incident has implications for the right of U.S. and other nations’ aircraft to fly in international airspace near China.  

But the real cause was false belief of China that it would aid in its dispute with Japan over the Senkaku (Diaoyu) Islands. Chinese leaders could have believed this for one of two reasons: first, they believed that an ADIZ signals or confers sovereign rights; or, second, they believed that declaring an ADIZ covering the disputed islands would enhance their bargaining position.  

What is the stand of India?  

Indian government has avoided taking sides of the US and Japan in the tense dispute over China’s announcement of an air defence identification zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea in 2013. The US and Japan have challenged China’s declaration by flying military aircraft into the zone, which overlaps the Japanese ADIZ and includes the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu islands, leading to the danger of conflict provoked by a miscalculation or mistake. 

Indian government stressed that the conflict could be best resolved through dialogues.