VP Joe Biden Visits Japan, China, South Korea Amid Air Zone Dispute With Beijing

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will visit Japan, China and South Korea this week amid a heated dispute over Beijing's claim of airspace over the East China Sea. 

The declaration by the Chinese less than two weeks ago prompted a dispute between international governments, as well as the flying of military planes from the United States, Japan and South Korea over the air zone.  

The situation has raised fears that an incident could occur in the air if the situation gets out of control, CNN reports. 

"Whatever Beijing's motives in declaring the zone, it will add to the growing international tide of suspicion and sometimes even outright hostility as China increasingly asserts its growing power," Andrew Hammond, a geopolitical analyst, wrote in a commentary. 

During Biden's visit, he will communicate America's concerns about Beijing's newly declared air defense identification zone, which both the U.S. and Japan reject. He will also encourage an open discourse with the countries to ease growing tensions. 

A senior Obama administration official said that he will also "make the broader point that there is an emerging pattern of behavior by China that is unsettling to China's own neighbors." 

Biden will begin the trip in Japan, a U.S. ally that is in direct opposition to China and its plan to increase its military. 

Over the past year, Tokyo and Beijing have been engaged in a rancorous dispute over a set of tiny, uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. Now, there is a dispute over the air defense zone because it overlaps with Japan, and encompasses the islands in question. The islands are known as Senkaku by Japan, and Diaoyu in China. 

China is now demanding that aircraft entering their air defense zone identify themselves and submit flight plans. Japan has ordered their planes not to comply with Chinese demands, but the U.S. government has directed American planes to submit to China's instructions. 

Biden will arrive in Tokyo late Monday, and will meet on Tuesday with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. 

The United States has thousands of troops stationed in Japan, and U.S. officials have said that a mutual defense treaty between the countries applies to the islands in dispute. 

A senior administration official said Biden will stress that the "the United States has a rock-solid commitment to our allies." 

After his visit to Japan, Biden will travel to Beijing, where he will meet with many top Chinese officials, including President Xi Jinping. Many analysts credit Jinping as the one behind the new air defense zone declaration.

U.S. officials say that the zone infringes not only on the zone declared by South Korea and Japan, but also on international airspace. 

Later in the week, Biden will visit U.S. ally South Korea, where he will meet with President Park Geun-hye. Biden will stress America's commitment to focusing more on the Asia-Pacific region. Also, he will most likely touch upon the issue of North Korea holding two U.S. citizens prisoner. 

While there, he will also visit the demilitarized zone that divides North and South Korea, the BBC confirms.