ISAS Briefs

The steady procession of Chinese ‘pressure tactics’ to push its claims on disputed territories is strengthening the hands of new leadership in Beijing. The leadership’s assertiveness is evident in recent announcements regarding China’s controversial new air defence zone. This initiative suggests that President Xi Jinping supports an ‘aggressive Chinese display of force’ to assert his country’s claims in its territorial disputes. On 23 November 2013, China declared the creation of an air defence identification zone (ADIZ) over the East China Sea, which has magnified concerns among neighbours and added apprehensions regarding the Chinese approach towards territorial and maritime disputes. Undoubtedly, such moves from Beijing are fuelling insecurity, and escalating political tensions in the Asia-Pacific region.