Partial Gamification
Banned
The Chinese government on Saturday claimed the right to identify, monitor and possibly take military action against aircraft that enter a newly declared “air defense identification zone,” which covers sea and islands also claimed by Japan and threatens to escalate an already tense dispute over some of the maritime territory.
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The move appeared to be another step in China’s efforts to intensify pressure on Japan over Japanese-controlled islands in the East China Sea that are at the heart of the dispute.
The declaration, from a Chinese Ministry of National Defense spokesman, Col. Yang Yujun, accompanied the ministry’s release of a map, geographic coordinates and rules that Colonel Yang said authorized treating an area alongside the eastern Chinese coast as the air defense identification zone.
“The objective is to defend national sovereignty and territorial and air security, as well as to maintain orderly aviation,” Colonel Yang said in comments issued on the ministry’s website in both Chinese and English.
“China’s armed forces will take defensive emergency measures to respond to aircraft that do not cooperate in identification or refuse to follow orders,” said the rules issued by the ministry, also in Chinese and English.
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I'm curious what people think about this and how its being interpreted around the World, especially from the gaffers in China and Japan.
Does this tie-in with the other annoucement this week:
Zipping between mainland cities on a private plane or helicopter should become quicker and easier after the government said it was loosening the military's grip over airspace.
From next month, small commercial flights will no longer have to get People's Liberation Army approval for flight plans. They will only need permission from the regional branch of the civil aviation administration.
This should cut the waiting time for permission to take off from several days to a few hours, giving a boost to the nascent private aviation sector.
The change - which applies only to general aviation and will not affect scheduled flights - was announced by the PLA and the Civil Aviation Administration.
"Some people regard it as a ground-breaking measure. Others regard it as the dawn of China's general aviation business. It is good news for everyone," said Wu Qing, general sales manager with GALink Aviation, a general aviation service provider in Changsha , Hunan .
About 1,000 planes were registered for general aviation last year, compared with more than 220,000 in the United States.
Certain restrictions will remain. Flights that cross borders, including into Hong Kong, or go through sensitive areas, will stay under the control of military air traffic authorities. Flights operated by holders of foreign passports will still need PLA approval.
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Please, lets be respectful and considerate toward this territorial dispute.