China slams ‘provocative’ airspace violation by U.S. bombers

A United States B-52 bomber mistakenly flew within two nautical miles of Chinese-claimed territory in the South China Sea last week, Pentagon officials said on Friday.

It said the military closely monitored two US B-52 bombers after they entered the airspace above the Spratlys, raised the alert level of troops stationed around the reef and issued warnings till the planes left.

“Australia has a long history of supporting rights of freedom of navigation, freedom of over-flight, and we will continue to traverse the South China Sea in accordance with global law as we have done in the past”, she said.

Washington said Saturday it routinely conducts training missions in the region, including the South China Sea, adding that it was investigating the reports of the bomber near the Spratly chain.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that the United States navy appeared to have scrapped a plan to carry out another patrol within 12 nautical miles of Chinese-built islands this year, as American officials had initially suggested. “We are looking into the matter”, Urban said.

The US uses pre-planned freedom of navigation operations to assert its rights to “innocent passage” in other countries’ territorial waters.

Tensions regularly flare over the South China Sea, where several countries have overlapping claims. China’s foreign ministry said at the time that America’s move was aimed at militarizing the disputed area. The artificial islands consist of three separate islands in the South China Sea that the country claims as part of their territory.

In Beijing, the Foreign Ministry said it had “lodged solemn representation with the United States” over the incident.

Aside from the South China Sea, other security issues roiling relations included alleged cyberattacks by China on the U.S. On Wednesday, Beijing lodged another formal protest after the U.S. approved a $1.83 billion arms sale to Taiwan, an island that China claims but doesn’t control.

But the US doesn’t recognize China’s claims of territoriality in the areas surrounding its artificial islands – a policy emphasized through a US Navy “freedom of navigation” exercise in the area in November.

The US is turning into a player in the South China sea, but not in the way that Washington might like. “China is building as many as three airstrips there, prompting concern in the US that its actions will provide it with military bases and risk hindering the free movement of shipping”. In late October the U.S. guided missile destroyer USS Lassen sailed close to Subi Reef with one such mission, provoking an angry rebuke from China.