2006-05-04

Japanese Air-Defence Identification Zone (Map)

Japan is making a big fuss about Chinese planes entering its "Air defence Indentification Zone". Meanwhile, China retorts that Japanese planes crossed into the disputed areas.

So what really is happening? Before we form our judgment based on Japanese press and pro-Japan blog reports, let's understand where the Identification Zones are.


Above is the map for the ADIZ, looks quite normal, isn't it? The deep blue area is Japanese Airspace, which is 12 nautical miles from its shoreline. The light blue area is the "Air Defence Identification Zone", it is defined by Japan's SDF alone. There is no international law governing such definition. After all, anyone has the right to define how oneself should be "alerted".
  • e.g. US has the total right to alert itself into Red sign if bin Laden flips his body in a cave in Afghanistan. This is strictly the internal affair of the US.
But there is something unusual. Japan re-defined and expanded its "ID Zone" just a few years ago. The map does not exactly overlap its claimed EEZ


This is the overlay of EEZ claimed by Japan (disputed by China) and Japan's Air-defence ID Zone. The dotted lines represents the EEZ claimed by Japan (for a full map see here). The Red line is the ID Zone.
  • The line starts from from Japan/Korea boundary (the line on the map above should start right south of Teuju Island) along 125E longitude to 30N latitude
  • Then it turns SW toward 25N120E, until it reaches 122.4E, the line turns south again from there
The ID Zone encloses a large portion of China's undisputed EEZ, to as far as 130km (not nautical mile) from China's coastline.

Now one cannot help but ask the question, why does the ID Zone extend over to the China EEZ (the portion undisputed by Japan). Sure Japan has the right to alert its own fighters in any way they want, they are free to do so even if a China plane takes off at Urumqi. But misleading the press that this is an invasion of Japanese Air Space? Why? They think we are all idiots?

Special thanks to woshizhongguoren at FYJS
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3 comments:

bobby fletcher said...

Iron Jack, ADIZ is not the same as "air space", get your facts straight.

ADIZ is self-appointed defense zone that usually goes way beyond territorial space.

There's no reason for China not to do the same. Sure they'll overlap, and the "you're in my ADIZ - No YOU are" kind of childishness will have to be sorted out.

- bobby fletcher

Anonymous said...

DOKDO IS IN THE KOREAN AIR DEFENSE IDENTIFICATION ZONE(KADIZ)! THE MAP ABOVE IS WRONG.

for your reference, there is an interesting news article which is NEITHER FROM KOREA NOR JAPAN.

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200503/08/eng20050308_176084.html

Sun Bin said...

anon, thanks for your comments.

the map is from japan, so it is not surprising it takes the japanese perspective, and include dokdo into its ADIZ.

of course korea would include dokdo into its own zone as well.