China does not feel threatened by countries in Southeast Asia and is optimistic about the situation in the disputed South China Sea, the Foreign Ministry said, warning Japan not to “spread rumors” it plans a new air defense identification zone.
China alarmed Japan, South Korea and the United States last year when it announced an air defense identification zone for the East China Sea, covering a group of uninhabited islands at the center of a bitter ownership spat between China and Japan.
Last week, Japanese newspaper the Asahi Shimbun said China was considering setting up a similar zone – where foreign aircraft are supposed to report their movements to China – in the South China Sea, prompting the U.S. State Department to warn against such a move.
