Trilateral Standoff

As if wedging between Japan and China, South Korea expanded its own air defense identification zone overlapping the zone Japan and China had already set. That created a situation that three countries would closely be watching air intruders at the same time. If one unidentified aircraft gets into the zone, air fighters may scramble toward it from those three countries. One of those pilots may think that he can make his government take advantageous position by shooting down the aircraft, because doing that will lead to reinforcing the commanding of the air. Situation in East Asia is inevitably changing.

South Korean Ministry of Defense on Saturday announced its expansion of ADIZ to southward. The additional zone included a small island called Ieodo, on which South Korea and China had been disputing administration each other. When China declared ADIZ including Ieodo, South Korea was furious on it and required to dismiss. The fact, revealed by China’s action, that the island has been included by Japan’s ADIZ also ignited anti-Japan sentiment in South Korea.

The government of South Korea explained it as moderate, because it would not affect private airline and carefully informed before establishing it, making a difference from the process done by china. Spokeswoman of U.S. Department of State, Jen Psaki, regarded South Korea’s new policy as meeting international standard.

The decision was inevitable, since islands under South Korean administration are included. However, declaration of ADIZ on one area by three parties will literally raise security tension. One country can think of flying “unidentified” aircraft over the area and shooting down by itself as a demonstration of exercising its administration there. This overlapped area needs to be neutralized as soon as possible.

From that perspective, it is hard to understand why U.S. approved South Korea’s action immediately. AIDZ of Japan and South Korea was established with U.S. requirement to maintain stability in East China Sea after the World War II. U.S. is also responsible for reducing tension in the area.

Ian Bremmer, President of Eurasia Group, stressed the necessity of U.S. to calming the tension down in an article of Mainichi Shimbun. “While they want the friction to be limited, Japan, China and South Korea has been stabilizing its domestic situation by taking assertive action in diplomacy. They are losing grip on internal response against other’s actions, while hoping to avoid negative effect on economy. So, it is a concern that U.S. keeps on giving an image to Asians that ‘We are too busy in Middle East to take on Asian security,” he argued.

It is true that who can deal with this puzzling situation is U.S. It is up to the seriousness of President Barack Obama when he said “As a Pacific nation, America will play a larger and long-term role in shaping this region and its future.”