Bombers flew near Chinese-built island in South China Sea -Pentagon

The United States continued to defy China’s claims over the South China Sea, as two B-52 strategic bombers flew near artificial Chinese-built islands in the sea this week and despite being contacted by Chinese ground controllers, continued their mission undeterred, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

Pentagon spokesman Commander Bill Urban explained that the aircraft were on “a routine mission in the SCS (South China Sea)”, with another spokesman adding that these missions happen “in that part of the world all the time”. The harsh language apparently had its desired effect, as the Philippines gave in to the PRC’s request that the case and other issues related to the South China Sea would remain off the agenda for the APEC summit. That’s a big if, though, given how much President Xi Jinping has embedded the nine-dash line into China’s psyche of a resurgent regional power. China has made the largest claim and has looked to reinforce that claim by covertly building artificial islands in the region.

China would prefer direct negotiations with other direct claimants to the South China Sea like Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. Foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said that China opposed flights that used such freedoms as mere legal cover, strongly implying that Beijing considered the flights by the B-52 bombers on Sunday and Monday as an excuse to challenge China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea.

The Lassen’s deployment did not include USA aircraft flying within the 12-mile boundary, and experts believe the operation fell somewhat short of a true freedom of navigation exercise.

Top USA officials were also hesitant to confirm the Lassen’s sail-by in public, drawing fierce criticism members of Congress who argued it made no sense to keep the operation private if it was meant to be a public demonstration against China’s claims.

Last year, the Indonesian armed forces chief accused China of including parts of the Indonesian-ruled Natuna islands within the nine-dash line. China now claims sovereignty over these new terrains. They could build up trust between the United States and its partners in the South China Sea like the Philippines, or even Japan or Korea that have current – or potential – maritime disputes with China.

The flight came after China recently deployed advanced J-11 fighter aircraft to Woody Island, one of its five manmade islands.

Abe also told reporters, “We’ll work to strengthen co-operation in the worldwide community for sustainable growth of the global economy”, apparently indicating his willingness to take the initiative in the debate in the worldwide meetings. “They’ll know we mean business”, he said on the debate hosted by Fox Business Network and the Wall Street Journal.