(7 Feb 2014) US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday reiterated the US government's opposition to a Chinese air defence zone in the East China Sea. Kerry was speaking during a news conference with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington. "The United States neither recognises, nor accepts China's declared East China Sea ADIZ (Air Defence Identification Zone)," Kerry told journalists. Kerry said the US was committed to upholding its treaty obligations with Japan including in the East China Sea. As a treaty ally of Japan, the US could be drawn into a conflict between Japan and China over disputed islands in the East China Sea. China recently declared that it had established an air defence zone over an area including the uninhabited, Japanese-controlled islands, which it calls Senkaku and China calls Diaoyu. Kishida said that Japan has assured the US that it will respond calmly to actions by China that have increased tensions between the two Asian powers. "We agree that we will respond calmly and with resolve, particularly with regards to the announcement of the Air Defence Identification Zone," Kishida said. But Kishida said Japan could "never condone actions which threaten the safety of civilian aircraft and bearing in mind the possibility of expanding similar measures to other regions." Kerry also congratulated Japan on joining the Hague Abduction Convention, an international treaty to combat child abduction, which Japan will join from April 2014, according to Japanese media. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/3169468e310b76ab0eb80491ffce5f0e

AP Archive9302473169468e310b76ab0eb80491ffce5f0eUS JapanJohn KerryJapanChinaUnited StatesEast China SeaSouth China SeaEast AsiaGreater ChinaGovernment and politicsGeneral news