Monitoring Airspace Over the East China Sea

As China and Japan continue to patrol and monitor their declared air defense identification zones in the East China Sea, both countries are trying to enhance their situational awareness in the disputed region by bolstering their airborne early warning and control capabilities. Although Japan has historically had more advanced airborne early warning and control systems, China is quickly catching up. In theory, improved capabilities would benefit both countries as they compete with one another other for primacy in these contested waters.