U.S. vice-president arrives in China amid air zone tensions

PanARMENIAN.Net - Joe Biden should not repeat "erroneous remarks" on China's new air zone, Chinese state media warned, as the U.S. vice-president arrived in Beijing, BBC News reported.

Biden is in Beijing for meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang. He is on the second leg of his Asia trip, which has been dominated by a row over China's newly-declared air zone, which covers islands claimed by Japan.

Biden arrived from Tokyo, where he reaffirmed the U.S. alliance with Japan. During his visit, Biden will attend an official welcome ceremony in Beijing's Great Hall of the People and visit China's leadership compound, known as Zhongnanhai.

In addition to meetings with China's president and premier, Biden will also meet Li Yuanchao, China's vice-president. Biden has said he will raise concerns over China's new air zone "in great specificity" when he meets China's leaders. Biden and Xi are said to enjoy a relatively close relationship.

China announced a new Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) last month, and said aircraft flying through the zone must follow its rules, including filing flight plans. The ADIZ covers islands claimed and controlled by Japan, and a submerged rock claimed by South Korea.

Joe Biden's diplomatic skills will be tested in Beijing, as he attempts to quell regional tensions over China's new Air Defence Identification Zone. So far, he appears to be giving China room to explain its intentions behind Beijing's seemingly sudden announcement of the new zone.

When meeting Washington's allies in Tokyo, Biden stopped short of calling on China to reverse its declaration. Instead, the U.S. vice president said he was deeply concerned by China's actions, leaving his senior aides to proclaim that Beijing's move was a provocative act.

The U.S., Japan and South Korea have rejected China's zone, and flown undeclared military aircraft through the ADIZ. On Friday, November 29 China scrambled fighter jets to monitor U.S. and Japanese planes flying in the area.

Tokyo has told its national carriers not to file flight plans with the Chinese side when transiting the zone, but on Friday the U.S. said it expected its carriers to "operate consistent with Notams [Notices to Airmen] issued by foreign countries". This did not indicate "U.S. government acceptance of China's requirements for operating in the newly-declared ADIZ", the state department said.

Speaking in Tokyo on Tuesday, Biden said the U.S. was "deeply concerned by the attempt to unilaterally change the status quo in the East China Sea."