Talks between Seoul and Beijing on air defence zone next Thursday

South Korea’s foreign ministry on Monday expressed formal regrets over China’s new air defense identification zones (ADIZ) that overlap airspace regulated by Seoul. The official source, who wanted to remain anonymous, said Vice Defense Minister Baek Seung-joo will likely discuss the contentious matter with the deputy chief of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), Wang Guanzhong, at the third meeting of bilateral defense strategy talks that will take place on Thursday in Seoul. “The ministry called China’s Minister Counselor Chen Hai and expressed its reservations over the unilateral drawing of the ADIZ,” said an insider. He said the conveyed message raised issue with China’s new lines that conflict with those already drawn by Seoul. In a similar move the defense ministry called the Beijing’s military attache to Seoul to express its views on the latest development. The protests come after the Beijing announcement over the weekend that it has redrawn the air identification zone over the East China Sea. China is claiming air control over a 20-by-115-kilometer tract of sky that is already being monitored and controlled by South Korea for its defense. Besides the air identification zone, the two sides are expected to touch on setting up a military hotline, which was first broached in June, during the upcoming meeting. Both Washington and Japan raised objections to the new lines, claiming they will fuel tensions in the region.