Pentagon: US bombers flew over South China Sea

A US B-52 strategic bomber flew over artificial Chinese-constructed islands in the South China Sea recently and was contacted by Chinese ground controllers but continued its mission undeterred, the Pentagon said on Thursday. The U.S. military spokesman added that the B-52s did not get within 12 miles of the islands.

Additionally, debate continued about the significance of the USS Lassen’s freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) near Subi Reef, with only scant additional details emerging since last week.

Indonesia’s pushback against China’s claims goes much deeper than that, though.

“If China does not send up any airplanes or naval forces to match the United States forces, then the U.S. will take this as a sign of weakness and exploit this weakness by increasing its patrols”, Bennett pointed out.

Innocent passage does not carry almost the same weight as a FON.

However, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping claims over the South China Sea. The Lowry Institute’s Euan Graham offered a useful reaction to Glaser and Dutton’s article, and our very own Adam Klein and Mira Rapp-Hooper advanced a similar theory based on the Philippine-held Thitu Island.

Shortly after the Lassen cruise, China released photos of armed J-11 fighter jets deployed to Woody Island, an outpost in the disputed Paracel Islands group.

“Given the sensitive political dynamics and detailed legal implications of our actions, it is vital that there be no misunderstanding about our objectives in either the Asia-Pacific region or within the worldwide community”, McCain wrote.

“China is using the lighthouses to support their claim that the Paracels belong to China”, said Ha Hoang Hop, visiting senior fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.

“The deployment of the latest YJ-18, together with the YJ-12 and YJ-100, has enabled the Navy to deter any foreign navies from approaching its defence areas”, state-run China Daily quoted unnamed strategy researcher in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) as saying. “China’s nine-dash line claim is expansive, excessive and has no basis under global law”, foreign affairs spokesman Charles Jose asserted.

Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir told Reuters on Thursday that Indonesia had received no official response to a request to China to clarify its position over the South China Sea. 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. Shannon Tiezzi helpfully summarizes the particulars of the EEZ dispute at The Diplomat.