The US warns China against establishing an air defense identification zone in the South China Sea.

The U.S. has warned it will view any move by China to establish an air defense identification zone in the South China Sea as "a provocative and destabilizing act."

China is illegally reclaiming land and building a runway on Fiery Cross Reef in Vietnam's Spratly Islands. Photo: Reuters

During his visit to Mongolia yesterday, US Secretary of State John Kerry warned that Washington would consider any action by China to establish an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) over the South China Sea as "provocative and destabilizing," according to Reuters.

US officials are concerned that the ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, Netherlands, in the case of the Philippines against China will prompt Beijing to declare an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the South China Sea.

"We will view this as a move that escalates tensions in the region and will seriously question China about its previous statements that it resolves disputes through diplomatic means," Kerry said. After concluding his trip to Mongolia, Kerry will travel to China.

At the Shangri-la Dialogue held in Singapore, China neither confirmed nor denied the existence of an ADIZ in the South China Sea, stating that it would consider the matter depending on the situation.

In 2013, China faced strong criticism from the United States and Japan when it unilaterally established an air defense identification zone in the East China Sea, which includes the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, claimed by both Beijing and Tokyo.

The South China Sea is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, with trillions of dollars worth of goods flowing through it annually. China has arbitrarily drawn the nine-dash line, making unreasonable claims of sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, including the Spratly and Paracel Islands, which are under Vietnamese sovereignty.

According to VNE