Kerry will visit China after Mongolia.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday, June 5, that the United States would consider any Chinese establishment of an air defense zone over the South China Sea to be a "provocative and destabilizing act".
U.S.
officials have expressed concern that an international court ruling
expected in coming weeks on a case brought by the Philippines against
China over its South China Sea claims could prompt Beijing to declare an
air defense identification zone, or ADIZ, as it did over the East China
Sea in 2013.
"We would consider an
ADIZ...over portions of the South China Sea as a provocative and
destabilizing act which would automatically raise tensions and call into
serious question China's commitment to diplomatically manage the
territorial disputes of the South China Sea," Kerry said during a visit to Mongolia.
"So we urge China not to move unilaterally in ways that are provocative."
Kerry will visit China after Mongolia.
China drew condemnation from Japan
and the United States when it imposed its ADIZ, in which aircraft are
supposed to identify themselves to Chinese authorities, above the East
China Sea.
China has neither confirmed nor denied
it plans such a zone for the South China Sea, saying that such a
decision would be based on the threat level and that it had every right
to set one up.
China
claims most of the South China Sea through which trillions of dollars
in ship-borne trade passes every year and has been undertaking extensive
reclamation and construction activities on islands and reefs it
occupies.
Neighbors Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims.
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