By JOSH LEDERMAN
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, left, is welcomed by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe prior to their talks at Abe’s official residence in Tokyo Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013. Biden, who is on the first leg of his three-nation Asian tour, met Abe, whose government is pressing the U.S. to more actively take Japan’s side in an escalating dispute over China’s new air defense zone above a set of contested islands in the East China Sea. (AP Photo/Toru Yamanaka, Pool)
Joe Biden, Shinzo Abe
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, left, gestures during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Abe’s official residence in Tokyo Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013. Biden, who is on the first leg of his three-nation Asian tour, met Abe, whose government is pressing the U.S. to more actively take Japan’s side in an escalating dispute over China’s new air defense zone above a set of contested islands in the East China Sea. (AP Photo/Toru Yamanaka, Pool)
Joe Biden, Naruhito, Caroline Kennedy
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, left, accompanied by U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy, center, is greeted by Japan’s Crown Prince Naruhito upon his arrival at the Togu Palace in Tokyo Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013. Biden is in Japan as part of his three-nation Asia tour. (AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa, Pool)
Joe Biden
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, right, shakes hands with an employee of DeNA during his visit to DeNA Co., Ltd, a global Internet company providing web services for mobile devices and PCs, in Tokyo Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
Joe Biden,Taro Aso,
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, right, smiles as he talks with Japan’s Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso, at U.S. ambassador’s residence in Tokyo Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013. Biden opened a weeklong trip to Asia aimed at showing the U.S. is still committed to increasing its engagement and influence in the region. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
Joe Biden,Taro Aso,Caroline Kennedy
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, center, waves as he talks with Japan’s Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso, left, and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy at ambassador’s residence in Tokyo Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013. Biden opened a weeklong trip to Asia aimed at showing the U.S. is still committed to increasing its engagement and influence in the region. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
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TOKYO (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden says the U.S. is deeply concerned about China’s attempt to unilaterally change the status quo in the East China Sea.
Biden says China’s declaration of a new air defense zone has raised regional tensions and increased the risk of accidents and miscalculation.
He says he’ll raise U.S. concerns with great specificity when he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping (shee jihn-peeng) later this week in Beijing.
Biden spoke after meeting in Tokyo with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (shin-zoh ah-bay).
The U.S. and Japan have refused to recognize China’s air defense zone above tiny islands that China and Japan both claim. The U.S. and its allies are concerned China’s move is part of a broader strategy to assert increasing authority in the region.
