Minneapolis, MN – U.S. and Japanese authorities are making threats against People’s China in the wake of China’s Nov. 23 establishment of the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone.

Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun states that China created the Identification Zone with “the aim of safeguarding state sovereignty, territorial land and air security and maintaining flight order. This is a necessary measure taken by China in exercising its self-defense right.”

Inside the newly created Identification Zone are the Japan-occupied Diaoyu Islands. Historically a part of China, Japan maintains physical control over the Diaoyu Islands and the islands have become a flashpoint in Chinese-Japanese relations in recent years.

Japan’s current Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe – a right winger who defends Japan’s brutal imperial past – is up in arms about the decision to establish the Identification Zone.

A Nov. 24 report in The Guardian states, “Japan has denounced the zone set up by China on Saturday as ‘totally unacceptable’ and indicated that aircraft from its self-defence force would ignore Beijing's attempt to oblige aeroplanes to obtain its permission before entering.”

On Nov. 23 U.S Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel stated, “This announcement by the People's Republic of China will not in any way change how the U.S. conducts military operations in the region.”

Referring to the Diaoyu Islands as the ‘Senkaku Islands’, which is the name used by the Japanese authorities, Hegel affirmed the U.S. was ready to join a military conflict with China, stating, “We remain steadfast in our commitments to our allies and partners. The U.S. reaffirms its longstanding policy that Article V of the U.S.-Japan Mutual Defense Treaty applies to the Senkaku Islands.”

#MinneapolisMN #China #selfdetermination #Japan #USImperialism #DiaoyuIslands #EastChinaSeaAirDefenseIdentificationZone #Asia