Hong Kong (CNN) - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will visit Japan and China this week as a dispute seethes over Beijing's recent claim of a large swath of airspace in the region.
The Chinese declaration less than two weeks ago has prompted a war of words between governments and flights through the contested air zone by military planes from the United States, China, Japan and South Korea.
The uneasy situation in the skies over the East China Sea has raised fears that a midair incident could cause circumstances to spiral out of control. It has also fueled concern about how far China is willing to go to pursue its interests in the Asia-Pacific region and push back against U.S. influence.