US military mettle welcomed in Asia

Tensions surrounding one of the world's most dangerous geostrategic flashpoints were ratcheted up this week.

In response to Tokyo's nationalisation of the disputed (but previously privately owned and Japanese-controlled) Senkaku/Diaoyu islands last year, Beijing has unilaterally established an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the territory.

Launched without regional consultation, the ADIZ sparked a testy diplomatic row. Concerns raised by Canberra, Tokyo, Seoul and Washington about the ADIZ's adverse effect on regional stability were brushed aside by Beijing as 'irresponsible remarks.'

Despite only requiring that aircraft report flight plans and maintain communication with Chinese authorities, the ADIZ is a bullish assertion of Chinese authority over hotly contested waters, and stokes fears that the Middle Kingdom will ride roughshod over the territorial claims of its maritime neighbours.

In direct violation of the ADIZ, the United States pointedly went ahead with a scheduled training sortie of two unarmed B-52 bombers on Tuesday.

Although provocative, this bold move will calm jittery nerves in Asian capitals: It reassures Washington's allies and partners that the United States remains committed to the geostrategic status quo in the Western Pacific.

Washington's defiance also has the added benefit of rebuking Beijing's strong-arm tactics in territorial disputes.

Beijing insists on resolving its territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas bilaterally. By avoiding negotiated multilateral solutions – for example, an Association of Southeast Asian Nations-brokered agreement on the South China Sea – Beijing hopes to benefit from the massive power advantage it enjoys when it faces off against countries that individually possess a small fraction of its economic largesse and military heft.

Washington's decision to flout the ADIZ just days after its creation signals that Beijing will not be left at liberty to pick off its adversaries: Chinese actions aimed at forcing unfairly favourable outcomes for Beijing will be treated as a direct challenge to Washington's vital interests in Asia.

As China eclipses the United States economically and militarily later this century, it will probe the limits of its international influence and make increasingly forceful claims to contested territory. Given the determination of China's maritime neighbours to stand their ground, this renewed Chinese assertiveness presages a period of volatile regional relations.

For now, however, US disregard for the Chinese ADIZ suggests that Washington is prepared to act as the guarantor of Asia's delicate peace.

Benjamin Herscovitch is a Beijing-based Research Fellow at The Centre for Independent Studies.