DEPT. OF NATIONAL DEFENSE ALARMADO RIN SA PLANONG ADIZ NG CHINA

SINANG-AYUNAN ni Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana ang pangamba ng U.S. Air Force hinggil sa negatibong epekto sa seguridad at komersyo ng maraming bansa ng napabalitang paglalagay ng China ng Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) partikular sa pinag-aagawang teritoryo sa South China Sea.

“Yes, I agree. First, an ADIZ by China over the entire South China Sea would arrogate unto itself a vast sea considered to be a global commons that has been opened for millennia to all for navigation and fishing. “

Sinabi pa ni Sec. Lorenzana na lalabagin nito ang exclusive economic rights of littoral states sa kanilang mga  Exclusives Economic Zones  sa ilalim ng United NationConventions on the Law of the Sea o  UNCLOS kung saan isa ang China sa mga lumagda.

Higit sa lahat ituturing ng maraming  bansa  na “illegal and violative of international laws” ang ADIZ. “It is my fervent hope that China would not proceed with this planned action for the continued peace and stability in the entire South China Sea,”  dagdag pa ng kalihim dahil maaring pagmulan umano ito ng mas matinding tensiyon at maaaring maging sanhi pa ng aksidente, o miscalculations sa karagatan at ma­ging sa himpapawd .

Una rito inihayag ng US na tinututukan nila ang report na plano ng Beijing na magdeklara ng  ADIZ sa ibabaw ng disputed South China Sea.

“A Chinese move to claim an ADIZ in the sea region could have a negative impact on the ability of nations to fly, sail and operate in a free and open Indo-Pacific “wherever international law allows,” babala ni Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. sa isang special teleconference briefing mula sa Hawaii.

Ayon kay Brown “concerned by increasing opportunistic activity by the PRC [People’s Republic of China] to coerce its neighbors and press its unlawful maritime claims while the region and the world is focused on addressing the COVID pandemic.”

“It really goes against the rules-based international order, and that’s concerning not only for PACAF and the United States, but I would say many of the nations in the region,” ani Brown .

Tumangging kumpirmahin ng  China ang nasabing ulat, subalit inihayag ng isang mataas na opisyal na lahat naman ng bansa ay may kanya-kanyang karapatan para maglagay ng ADIZ.

“I’m not sure what the source of this report is, but I’d like to stress that every country has the right to establish an ADIZ and to decide whether to establish an ADIZ based on the intensity of the threats it faces in air defense security,” ani  Zhao Lijian, tagapagsalita ng China Foreign Affair.VERLIN RUIZ