PLA Veterans' Grumbles get Louder

The PLA celebrates its 91st anniversary tomorrow, but not everyone is happy

The People's Liberation Army or PLA has a lot of veterans, about 57 million people.

They are the latest group of people to grumble about their (lack of) benefits and aren't very happy.

The government is so worried they will divert attention from the 91st anniversary of the founding of China's military tomorrow that vice-minister Fang Yongxiang gave a press conference saying now was not the time to voice grievances about welfare rights.

Fang Yongxiang warns veterans not to protest tomorrow

"We oppose the use of extreme moves to petition, and the staging of mass gatherings," he said. "We hope every veteran can respect the law and not threaten the stability of our society because of an impulse.

"We hope that everyone can report their problems in a rational and peaceful way... and prevent radical words... and avoid being used by people with ulterior motives."

In recent months, former servicemen and women have staged numerous rallies calling for better welfare rights. Some protestors have claimed they were assaulted by groups of thugs hired by officials.

There was also a five-day rally in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province in June, where some protestors said the event ended when armed police were sent to disperse the crowd. A military source close to the provincial government said "more than 10 officials" involved in the rally were punished for their handling of the event.

He also said authorities in other parts of the country had increased their monitoring of veterans on the approach to the military's anniversary on Wednesday, August 1.

"Governments in other provinces and cities have been on high alert to prevent any similar protests from being organized," the person, who requested anonymity, said.

"To prevent any possible petitioning, household registration authorities have started calling [at people's homes] and updating the information they have about veterans, to make sure they know their whereabouts."

Veterans have held several protests in recent months

Sounds very familiar to how political dissidents are tracked...

Last week hundreds of people staged protests outside veterans' affairs offices in Shandong, Hebei and Jiangsu provinces. In Jinan, Shandong, police officers were dispatched to block exits at the city's railway station to prevent more people from joining the protest.

Gou Zhengguo is a former soldier who fought in the Vietnam war and now lives in Hunan province. He said many veterans were told they could gather to air their grievances, but not in public places or in large numbers -- probably meaning no larger than three people.

"Some local authorities think that the civil rights movement by veterans, who only want better retirement benefits, is becoming more complicated and being used [as a front] by hostile forces from overseas," he said.

Groan. That argument again?

Who are these "hostile forces" that always conveniently pop up to supposedly disrupt things?

Perhaps the government should buckle down and sort out the veterans' grievances?

Veterans protesting in Beijing last year

Zeng Zhiping, a military law professor at Nanchang Institute of Technology in Jiangxi province criticized the authorities for being more concerned with breaking up protests than finding solutions to the veterans' problems.

"It's such a stupid and short-sighted move to highlight how much social unrest the authorities have successfully tackled," he said.

"This kind of approach may be a credit on local officials' lists of political achievements, but it will stir up more conflict between veterans and local authorities, and sow the seed for more trouble."

Soldiers do not earn much money in the military, and when they leave, they haven't amassed much in terms of savings which leaves these veterans very unhappy after what they thought was an honourable job.

The Ministry of Veterans' Affairs opened in April, meant to tackle their grievances; at Tuesday's press conference, they announced measures to help 120,000 ex-servicemen and women find new jobs and improve the welfare packages of 10,000 retirees and disabled former soldiers.

These initiatives seem like a drop in the bucket to help the 57 million veterans who have served the country. Surely money used to quell protests would be better used to give veterans what they want?

Xi's Look Back at 2017

Xi Jinping gives his New Year's address with two red phones on his desk...

On New Year's Eve, Chinese President Xi Jinping read out an 11-minute televised message where he went over the country's achievements in 2017.

He praised the Chinese people's "great creative forces that have burst forth" (迸发出来的创造伟力 bèngfā chūlái de chuàngzào wěilì) and listed accomplishments, such as the high-speed rail, the Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai bridge mostly completed, military progress, and increased health insurance coverage.

This picture was spotted on the shelf behind him

Xi repeated his commitment of promising to lift all rural residents living below the current poverty line out of poverty by 2020, and said China would "resolutely uphold the authority and status of the United Nations", be a responsible global actor and keep its promise on climate change and actively move forward on the Belt and Road initiative.

Interestingly he also observed people have encountered frustrations and admitted the Party could do more, saying the government needed to deliver on education, employment, income, social security, healthcare, elderly care, housing and the environment.

But throughout the video broadcast, viewers were more interested in the pictures he had on the bookshelves behind him than what he was saying. What were the pictures of?

Three showed him posing with different groups in the military, three were of him visiting the poor, one was about the Belt and Road, one had him posing with young Hong Kong people to mark the 20th anniversary of its handover to China, and one showed him retaking the Party oath

This photo showing his love of football was not there...

Xinhua news agency said Xi's global vision is to chart out a more prosperous and peaceful future for humanity with the joint efforts of the Chinese people and people from other countries, and the photos behind him were meant to reinforce this message.

A friend of mine who covers sports in China noted in Xi's other New Year speeches in 2014, 2015 and 2016, there were football-related pictures on the bookshelves, but this time there were none.

However, I'm more interested in the two red phones on his desk...

Change Afoot in Harare?

General Constantine Chiwenga may be behind the possible coup in Harare

There were news reports this afternoon Hong Kong time that the military had put Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his family under house arrest, according to Major General S. B. Moyo, who made a statement on the state broadcaster ZBC.

While he and another uniformed officer confirmed Mugabe and his family are safe, and their security was guaranteed, Moyo said: "We are only targeting criminals around him who are committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in the country in order to bring them to justice."

No bloodshed, but tanks and soldiers are in the streets

He also warned that any provocation would be met with an appropriate response.

There is speculation that General Constantine Chiwenga who is leading what looks like a coup, is close to the former Vice President Emmerson Mnangawa, who was expelled from the government and governing ZANU-PF party last week.

These latest developments have a Zimbabwean friend of mine who has lived in Hong Kong for over 20 years very excited.

In my first newspaper job, he was one of the first photographers I worked with, a white Zimbabwean whose family had been there for generations. It was he who explained to me what Mugabe had done to his country since he took power in 1980.

Is this the beginning of the end of Robert Mugabe?

He was frustrated and upset when President mandated blacks take over farms owned by whites, causing racial backlash against whites, like his parents who had been there all their lives. They were told to go back to where they came from, but where? They were from Zimbabwe too.

His parents' farm was taken over, a place that his family had lived in for decades, which caused his father so much shock that he died of a heart attack soon after. His mother had to create a new life for herself in a small apartment with a tiny balcony for her to continue growing plants and flowers, a tiny fraction of what she was used to looking after.

The story he told me was very similar to Peter Goodwin's When a Crocodile Eats The Sun: A Memoir of Africa, a memoir that my friend YTSL lent me.

A powerful memoir of Zimbabwe

Ever since my friend told me about Mugabe, I would read about any news on him and be shocked and horrified by what he was doing to the country, particularly the insane inflation that rendered their currency worthless by the day.

Several years ago I caught up with my friend who had been going to Mandarin class. I asked him what for and he said to be able to get a Chinese passport. He was so ashamed of carrying a Zimbabwean passport and was ready to renounce his citizenship of his native homeland if he could get a Chinese one. I don't know if he managed to get it or not.

So I can imagine he is anxiously watching the news of the so-called coup that the military claims is not a coup, while there are reports people in the streets are happy to have anyone else but Mugabe.

We shall see what happens, but it may be the light at the end of what has been a very long and dark tunnel.

Stephen Chow's Vision of a "Better Future"

The Hong Kong Youth Military Summer Camp in San Wai, Fanling

Ah Hong Kong kids. Many are very sheltered or their lives are so micromanaged by their parents that the children don't know what to do with themselves when they have five minutes to spare.

But hey -- what about some boot camp -- PLA style?!

For the past 13 years, the People's Liberation Army has held an annual summer boot camp and its latest endorser is Hong Kong comedian and filmmaker Stephen Chow Sing-chi.

He recently visited the camp and talked to some of the 400 participants of the 15-day program at the PLA's San Wai Barracks in Fanling.

Stephen Chow is pleased by the young people's PLA training

At their graduation day, they performed drills, shadowboxed, and sang revolutionary songs in the 35-degree Celsius weather.

China Daily reported Chow said of the participants: "They overcame challenges and hardships through arduous training in this garrison's summer camp. To my surprise, they spent time experiencing this special training, instead of playing around. For me, it is remarkable that they do this."

It's also important to note that Chow is an adviser to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

"If more young people were to take part in this summer camp, Hong Kong would have a better future," he added.

How so?

This "better future" phrase is so simplistic. Singing revolutionary songs?

Discipline, hard work and training is good, but a better future?

Perhaps by going through bootcamp, more young people would be more disciplined and hardworking, but these days it's not enough. Maybe they will get better grades, but perhaps their parents cannot afford to send them abroad for further education, or they don't have the right connections to get a job.

The way things worked 20, 30 years ago is different from now, and many middle aged people either forget or don't realize how things have changed so much.

Admittedly the camp did push some kids to change their lazy habits into more productive ones, or they learned the value of teamwork and perseverance.

But a "better future"? It's kind of ironic hearing it from a comedian whose characters are known for mostly being lazy and thinking of quick-fix solutions that don't always go the right way...

Trump's Sabre-Rattling Man

What will the addition of Peter Navarro mean for Trump's China policy?

US President-elect Donald Trump continues with his war mongering with today's appointment of UC Irvine economist Peter Navarro to head the new National Trade Council for US trade and industrial policy.

If anything Navarro seems to be inspiring Trump's beliefs that China has been taking away American jobs, polluting the planet and spewing propaganda to justify its totalitarian regime.

The 67-year-old has written several books on the Middle Kingdom, like Death by China, Crouching Tiger: What China's Militarism Means for the World, and The Coming China Wars: Where They Will Be Fought, How They Can Be Won.

Trump seems to be influenced by Navarro's writing on China

They are ominous titles and Navarro seems to be egging on a fight with China, standing behind Trump and daring to poke the dragon in the eye.

Is this really necessary? And besides, China and the US' economies are so closely interlinked, adding the military card just makes things even more tense than they need be.

So if America doesn't pay back the trillions of dollars worth of US Treasury bills China holds, then the US is going to do payback time in the form of nukes?

And Navarro seems to forget that China is the world's factory, which is why it is polluting the environment at the cost of consumers' (mostly American) desires. If we needed less stuff then maybe the country would be less polluted.

Provoking war with China seems completely absurd, but then again we are now in the age of Trump where he seems to have the idea of stimulating the economy with military escalation...

One of Navarro's books about China

It is a frightening thought that this is what Trump is keen to do and giving Navarro license to fulfill his predictions.

Sounds like China needs to be the more reasoned panda than the eagle who seems keen on trying out its arsenal...

Remembering Prince Mikasa

Prince Mikasa was married to Princess Yuriko for over 70 years

Prince Mikasa, the uncle of Japanese Emperor Akihito, passed away on Friday morning. He was 100 years old.

Reading his obituary in the paper, I read with interest how he was the only member of the imperial family with military experience, and because of that strongly advocated peace after World War II.

After he graduated from the Military Academy in 1936, the prince served in the cavalry regiment. He graduated from the Military Staff College in 1941 and was posted to then Nanking (now Nanjing), as an Imperial Japanese Army officer under a pseudonym in 1943.

The prince was posted in Nanking under a pseudonym

That city was the site of the infamous Nanking massacre by Japanese troops in late 1937 and early 1938. When the war ended he was 29 years old and a major.

Even before the war ended the prince began criticizing Japan's military leadership. In a book published in 1984, he recalled being shocked at atrocities committed by the Japanese military while he was serving in China for a year.

"Even today I constantly feel the sting of conscience over my failure to fully grasp the criminality of war," he wrote.

In a 1994 interview with Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, the prince recalled, "I was strongly shocked when an officer told me that the best way to train new soldiers is to use a living prisoner of war as the target of bayonet practice."

After the war he devoted himself to the study of ancient Asian history and taught at such universities as Tokyo Woman's Christian University and the Tokyo University of the Arts where he was paid US$6.40 a month.

The prince advocated peace after the war

He was the first in the Imperial family to get a driver's license and advocated birth control, even though he himself had five children. "It is not easy to practice what you preach," he conceded after the fourth child was born.

Together with Princess Yuriko, 93, whom Prince Mikasa married in 1941, he had three sons and two daughters, but the three princes died in 2002, 2012 and 2014.

When he turned 100 last December, The Japan Times reported the prince issued a statement thanking Yuriko for her support during their over 70 years of marriage, saying, "Nothing will change just because I turn 100 years old."

Vancouverite Finally Free

Kevin Garratt hugging his wife Julia in Vancouver

We were relieved this morning to read the news that Vancouverite Kevin Garratt was released after spending two years in a Chinese jail on suspicion of spying.

The move comes soon after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Beijing earlier this month and raised the Garratt case with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and a week before Prime Minister Li Keqiang comes to Canada next week.

Earlier this week Garratt was formally sentenced and then released on bail. According to his family, he was deported from China yesterday and was back in Canada.

Garratt in front of the coffee shop at Dandong

In August 2014, Garratt and his wife Julia were detained in Dandong, a city near the Chinese border with North Korea where the couple had a cafe called Peter's Coffee Shop which they operated as part of a Christian aid mission.

Chinese officials later said they were being held on "suspicion of stealing and spying to obtain state secrets".

"Kevin Garratt and his wife... are suspected of collecting and stealing intelligence materials related to Chinese military targets and important Chinese national defence scientific research programs, and engaging in activities that endanger China's national security," the Foreign Ministry said in a short statement at the time.

Their son Simeon said in Vancouver at the time that the charges "sound ridiculous". "Military secrets? It sounds like something out of a movie or something. Those are the accusations, but I have no idea where they are coming from or how it even came about."

Justin Trudeau shakes hands with Xi Jinping earlier this month

There were also concerns that China's relationship with then Prime Minister Stephen Harper wasn't good, which made Garratt's situation harder to bring up and resolve.

Soon Julia Garratt was released on bail and allowed to leave China, but in January Chinese authorities announced Garratt would be tried on the charges. And now he's finally free.

He had originally said that God had told them to go to Dandong to spread Christianity into North Korea.

But after this two-year long wait and finally returning back to Canada, what's Garratt's next move?

Nevertheless, his release demonstrates Trudeau's ability to sway the Chinese, and scores the respect of Canadians for finally successfully dealing with this case which has been left idle for some time.

Tsai Bashing Backfires

Taiwan's Tsai Ing-wen (centre) on inauguration day last Friday

The mainland really has problems accepting Tsai Ing-wen as the new president of Taiwan.

Less than a week after she took office, Wang Weixing, a member of the Association of Relations across the Taiwan Straits (Arats), were published in the International Herald Leader, a paper under Xinhua news agency.

"From the human point of view, as a single woman politician, [Tsai] does not have the emotional burden of love, of 'family', of children, [so her] political style and executive strategy tends to be emotional, personal and extreme," Wang said, who is also a senior military officer and director of foreign studies with the People's Liberation Army's Academy of Military Sciences.

He also added her "erratic behaviour" influenced her political style.

Tsai's office had no comment on the article.

The new Taiwanese president has a penchant for felines

The opinion is so baseless that one wonders how Wang could even be qualified to write something as sexist and misogynist as this.

She won a clear victory at the polls, so there must be a reason why the Taiwanese chose her over other candidates.

And having a leader who is single is a good thing.

That shows he or she is focused on his or her job, that family issues will not be getting in the way or a distraction from leading Taiwan.

Wouldn't you want a leader who was mostly focused on the best interests of your country/state/city/province?

If anything, Wang's opinion is so inane and ridiculous that his own countrymen bashed him on social media for his ignorance.

One Weibo user in Beijing wrote: "This was the stupidest and most offensive thing I have read in ages. Many women abroad admire Ms Tsai's tenacity and drive, especially the fact she is strong and independent and does not need a man to rule."

"If the tables were turned and Ms Tsai was a man, she would be celebrated for being single," said another. "This is typical discriminatory behaviour but it still disgusts me."

Perhaps the best response was from Su Mei Cho, a teacher from Shanghai: "If Xinhua wanted to criticize Tsai Ing-wen, do it on fair grounds and look at her ability to lead Taiwan and revitalize areas like defense and the economy.

"What does her private life have to do with the way she governs Taiwan? Taiwanese celebrate her and her strong achievements and I doubt they will care as much about who she decides to date, such trivial writing and opinions expressed in this report."

We expect Wang to metaphorically have egg on his face and he should better rethink his strategy on how to better bash Tsai on more weightier issues than her sex.

It is, after all, 2016.

The Lady's in Charge

Everyone will be watching how Aung San Suu Kyi leads Burma

Exactly five years ago today, Aung San Suu Kyi walked free after 15 years of house arrest and the electoral commission announced her party, the National League for Democracy won an overwhelming majority in Myanmar or Burma's first openly contested election in 25 years.

According to the constitution that was amended by the military, Suu Kyi technically cannot become president, but she has said that she would lead the country anyway if the NLD won.

Suu Kyi's release from house arrest exactly five years ago

The party earned over 80 percent of the vote, demonstrating the people are anxious for change -- however it won't come easily. The NLD has enough of a majority to pass bills, but the army has 25 percent of seats and controls key ministries, so there needs to be cooperation on both sides.

Suu Kyi will meet with President Thein Sein and army Commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing next week, probably to make the transition in power as peaceful as possible, and that the next government will be inclusive.

When she was under house arrest, I didn't think I would see her released in my lifetime, let alone win a relatively democratic election.

How times change -- and fast!

The Lady reading when she was under house arrest

It will be interesting to see how she leads Burma. While she was a symbol of democracy, she didn't speak out for ethnic minorities when she was leader of the opposition. There were spats of violence and Suu Kyi kept silent that seemed uncharacteristic of her, and raised doubts of her ability to unite the country.

Which is why it's kind of surprising how she and the NLD won such an overwhelming majority, but perhaps it's because everyone is clamoring for change. Will she deliver? We shall see.

Giving Air Travel a Bad Name

Imagine the chaos inside Beijing International Airport...

Last Wednesday there was a news story warning there would be major flight delays at 12 airports in China for two weeks supposedly because of PLA military exercises.

Airports affected included Shanghai, Nanjing, Qingdao, Wuhan, Hangzhou, Ningbo and Hefei.

This is because the PLA has controlled mainland airspace since 1949 and only allocates 20 percent of it to civil aviation. It has probably only been 20 percent for over six decades.

Compare that to the United States where commercial airlines occupy 90 percent of airspace, leaving only narrow corridors for the air force.

So as expected, over the weekend there was chaos at airports over the weekend, with 130 flights cancelled in Shanghai's two airports by 6pm yesterday [Sunday], while 519 flights were delayed.

Beijing International Airport saw 55 flights cancelled and 126 delayed. Xiamen was hit the hardest, with capacity down by 77 percent due to "busy airspace".

The reason for the delays is that the PLA is conducting live-fire drills in the waters off the east coast until August 15.

Military experts claim the drills are to signal to Japan and the US of China's military might, in marking the 120th anniversary of the Sino-Japanese war.

However, these military exercises -- seemingly selfish -- are severely affecting the booming aviation industry. One passenger complained that when he arrived at the airport for his 8.40am flight, it had been delayed to 1.30pm. "Why didn't they tell me in advance so that I didn't have to wake up so early?" he asked.

But in today's paper, China's Defense Ministry claims it's bad weather, not military drills to blame.

The ministry said in a statement yesterday that exercises that had been scheduled in the southeast coastal areas would begin tomorrow, and that weather had caused disruptions.

Uh huh.

Many passengers for commercial flights did not take these disruptions lying down. At Shenzhen's international airport, fights broke out between ground staff and frustrated passengers in a video clip taken by witnesses.

One female passenger explained that the confrontation came about after they had been waiting three hours to board a plane to Hangzhou. She and 30 others refused to board the plane, demanding compensation and a public apology from the airport.

But it's not the airport's fault -- it is really the PLA who decide when and where they will use the airspace without giving airports and airlines much time to deal with the situation.

It's not wonder the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) is nicknamed "Chinese Airlines Always Cancel".

How do you shake that reputation off when the PLA is the one calling the shots?

China's Top Guns

One of China's F15 fighter jets preparing for take off from the Liaoning

The big news today was China releasing an official training video of F15 fighter jets on the carrier the Liaoning.

In the 6:41 minute video, the aircraft is shown with its wings folded and then raised up prepared for take-off from the carrier.

Viewers can also see the pilots training by running along the beach and the lifting weights, and then getting ready for their flights. When they are up in the air, there's a quick pan of the dashboard, but not enough to get a good look of the proprietary information...

It all looks so Top Gun -- minus Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer and Anthony Edwards. Don't even think of having a female love interest in this propaganda clip. It's all about testosterone here.

Some of the scenes are beautifully shot, particularly those of the carrier at sunset, while the aerial shots are very cool and remind viewers of the 1986 blockbuster film directed by Tony Scott (who died almost two years ago).

However, there are some cheesy bits, like a man in white uniform whipping out his sword for dramatic sound purposes, and the dark room full of naval officers staring at their computer screens? Do they really go to work like that everyday?

Nevertheless it is pretty impressive, as China is eager to show off its "home grown" fighter jets that were put into service two years ago.

The video ends with the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, a state-owned aerospace and defense company. So no, it wasn't issued by the military, but the company behind the jet fighters.

Impressed?

PLA Scrutinizes... Itself

The PLA protects Hong Kong, but can it be accountable to itself?

It's interesting to read that the Communist Party of China and the People's Liberation Army are setting up offices at the local government level to better monitor soldiers for illegal activities and address grievances.

The move comes following the crackdown on officials' lavish spending and now it has also spread to the PLA in a bid to clean up the military, improve morale and root out graft without affecting public confidence in soldiers.

"All departments should attach importance to the work of protecting military rights, especially those that have a major influence on state security and social stability," said a document jointly issued by the Communist Party's Central Political and Law Commission and the PLA's General Political Department.

The notice added government authorities should also crack down on military-related crimes, such as stealing and selling PLA secrets, theft or destruction of equipment or facilities.

A closer scrutiny into the PLA came late last month after former deputy logistics chief Gu Junshan was charged with embezzlement, bribery, misuse of state funds and abuse of power. His former boss, Xu Caihou, who was previously CMC vice-chairman was also detained.

The document says all provinces and municipalities should establish leading groups and standing offices at the county, city and provincial levels. Heads of the local political and law commissions will lead the groups, while key judicial and government organizations will take part.

What about Hong Kong? In the former Prince of Wales barracks which has now finally been transformed into a PLA garrison with a giant red star emblazoned on the top, houses a number of PLA soldiers. Will an office also be set up to scrutinize them as well?

One hardly thinks the grassroots soldiers need to be disciplined for corruption, but those higher up the ranks with access to all this money and assets are the ones more prone to misdeeds.

It will be interesting to see if these offices catch more PLA soldiers and higher-ranking officers doing dirty deeds. After all, these bureaus will be setup by the PLA and CPC themselves...

Charting New Territory

A panoramic view of the skyscrapers in Central from Pier 9

After work tonight, YTSL and a colleague and I had dinner at Watermark, a western restaurant right at the Star Ferry Pier in Central. We quite enjoyed the seafood platter -- choc full of lobster, crab, sea whelk, clams, mussels, scallops and prawns, but were disappointed there were no oysters available this evening!

In any event, our friend left us after dinner and YTSL and I walked along the waterfront promenade. It was a pretty nice walk, barring the public washroom area which really had a pungent smell! Walk as fast as possible away from that area!

Looking eastwards to Wan Chai

We passed by the 350 metre long military dock and the area in front that the Hong Kong government has apparently given to the People's Liberation Army... many residents opposed the move, but the Town Planning Board did not listen to the objections...

And then we walked past Admiralty and the government offices and made our way towards Wan Chai. There are mini balconies and alcoves where young lovers like to cuddle up on the benches. It's a great view of the harbour and the alcoves allow for a little bit of privacy...

Our first stop in Wan Chai was Fenwick Pier. It's still an outpost for American navy personnel and we wandered around a bit, but were disappointed to find the shops were closed by the time we got there at 10.30pm. We'd heard that you can buy American magazines at US prices. Next time! The Italian restaurant Giando is there and we hear it's good, but the location isn't that convenient.

I went home after that while YTSL continued on to Golden Bauhinia Square at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre when it started raining!

We wonder what Pier 10 will be used for?

We should soon be able to walk all the way to North Point. The weather is cool now which makes the stroll nice, but how will it be like in the summer?

Escalating Tensions

China's air defense identification zone created this week

China's establishment of an air defense identification zone has not only come as a shock to everyone in the region as well as the United States, but it is also escalating quickly.

Today it sent its fighter jets into the area after US and Japanese planes flew into the zone without filing flight plans to China.

This week's sudden declaration of the area that includes the disputed Diaoyu/Senkaku islands was made without consultation with anyone and shows that Beijing's military hawks are playing this round.

How much of a blessing they have from President Xi Jinping is unknown, but the fact that so far no one has filed flight plans with Beijing has basically meant the proverbial middle finger at China.

The first to dare China was the US, sending two unarmed B-52 bombers over the zone, with Beijing sending a warning aircraft and jet fighters into the area, tracking the American planes. South Korea has also flown through the zone.

Apparently Beijing will not resort to military action unless it detects hostile intentions, but that can be subjective and also could lead to nervous fingers on triggers, thus escalating tensions.

China is not the first to establish this zone -- in fact Japan did that in 1969 and expanded it in 2010, sending military aircraft to fly through the area without prior notification.

As a result, China is doing the same thing, with defense ministry spokesman Yang Yujun saying, "We would like to ask Japan to revoke its own ADIZ first. China will then consider this request in 44 years," referring to its setting up the zone in 1969.

If this isn't a tit-for-tat, we don't know what it is. We might add here that according to Time magazine, any nation can create ADIZs and have no global legal significance, which is different from a nation's internationally recognized air space and no-fly zones. 

The fact that China has escalated the situation with constant military patrols and other countries brazenly defying Beijing's rules could lead to escalating conflicts of a military kind.

The Chinese military is keen to flex its muscles, but it seems to be doing it in a very childish way but with expensive toys.

We just worry that someone will make a mistake or there is a misunderstanding that could inadvertently lead to a bad situation.

Or Beijing's leaders are letting the military hawks blow off their steam and then will eventually corral them back into the pen.

We shall see.