NEW YORK/WASHINGTON: US airlines United, American and Delta, have notified Chinese authorities of flight plans when traveling through an air defense zone Beijing has declared over the East China Sea, following US government advice.
The United States said on Friday it expected US carriers to operate in line with so-called notices to airmen issued by foreign countries, although it added that the decision did “not indicate U.S. government acceptance of China's requirements.”
A spokesman for Delta Airlines said it had been complying with the Chinese requests for flight plans for the past week.
American and United said separately that they were complying, but did not say for how long they had done so.
Airline industry officials said the US government generally expects US carriers operating internationally to comply with notices issued by foreign countries.
In contrast, two major airlines in Japan, the United States' close ally, have agreed with the Japanese government that they would fly through the zone without notifying China.
China published coordinates for the zone last weekend.
The area, about two-thirds the size of the United Kingdom, covers most of the East China Sea and the skies over a group of uninhabited islands at the center of a bitter dispute between Beijing and Tokyo.
Beijing wants all foreign aircraft passing through the zone, including passenger planes, to identify themselves to Chinese authorities.
China's declaration of the zone represents a historic challenge by the emerging new world power to the United States, which has dominated the region for decades.
The United States, Japan and South Korea have defied the Chinese move by flying military aircraft, including giant U.S.B-52 bombers, through the zone without informing Beijing.
A US official said China's action appeared to be a unilateral attempt to change the status quo in the East China Sea, which could “increase the risk of miscalculation,confrontation and accidents”.
“We urge the Chinese to exercise caution and restraint, and we are consulting with Japan and other affected parties throughout the region,” the official said.
US Vice President Joe Biden is due to visit China, Japan and South Korea next week, and will try to ease tensions overthe issue, senior American officials said.
China scrambled jets on Friday after two US spy planes and 10 Japanese aircraft, including F-15 fighters, entered the zone,China's state news agency Xinhua said.
The jets were scrambled for effective monitoring, it quoted air force spokesman Shen Jinke as saying.
The Chinese patrol mission, conducted on Thursday, was “a defensive measure and in line with international common practices,” Shen said, according to Xinhua.
“China's air force is on high alert and will take measures to deal with diverse air threats to firmly protect the security of the country's airspace,” he said.
However, Defence Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said it was”incorrect” to suggest China would shoot down aircraft which entered the zone without first identifying themselves.
US flights were “routinely” transiting the zone, USofficials said on Friday.
“These flights are consistent with long standing and well known US freedom of navigation policies,” Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said. “I can confirm that the US has and will continue to operate in the area as normal.” A US defence official said routine operations included reconnaissance and surveillance flights.