The US continued to reject China’s claim to disputed territory over the East China Sea, but urged US commercial airlines to comply with China’s demands for notification of any flights through its newly declared air defense zone. The US offered to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons aboard a ship at sea; a US naval vessel is being readied for the purpose. The White House said President Obama will issue a new national security strategy in early 2014. The Obama administration renewed exemptions from Iran sanctions for China, India, South Korea, Turkey, Malaysia, South Africa, Singapore, and Sri Lanka. Guantanamo detainees Belkacem Bensayah and Djamel Ameziane protested US plans to repatriate them to Algeria.
