China sent fighter jets into its newly claimed air defense zone Thursday, as Japan and South Korea sounded notes of defiance by declaring they would continue to fly through disputed airspace without notifying Beijing. South Korea announced yesterday it had already sent a military flight into China's newly claimed "air defense identification zone" (ADIZ) on Tuesday without alerting China, while Japan appeared to claim it had also flown into the territory since China's announcement Saturday that it was unilaterally establishing the zone. The flights have raised the stakes in a rapidly escalating dispute over contested territory in and above the East China Sea. They follow U.S. flights into the territory earlier in the week, when two unarmed B-52 bombers passed uncontested through the zone, in what the Pentagon described as a pre-planned military exercise.
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Official: China warplanes fly as "defensive measure" into newly declared zone
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South Korea says it has flown into disputed zone since Chinese declaration
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South Korea says it is considering expanding its air defense zone in retaliation
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Tokyo suggests it has also patrolled the contested airspace since Beijing's announcement
The spokesman said @placeholder officials asked Beijing at a meeting Thursday to amend the boundaries of the new ADIZ so that there was no overlap with South Korea's ADIZ, a request that China had rejected.