China: Foreign Ministry Asserts Legitimacy Of Air Force Patrols

China's air force has the right to patrol the country's Air Defense Identification Zone in the East China Sea, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said Nov. 29. China announced the establishment of the zone in the East China Sea on Nov. 23, which requires aircraft to report their flight plans and identify themselves when traveling through the zone. The spokesman stressed the difference between the Air Defense Identification Zone and China's territorial airspace, and said that the zone will not affect the normal flight of other countries' aircraft.