US says bombers didn’t intend to fly over China-held island

China is accusing the USA of a serious military provocation following the flight of an American B-52 strategic bomber over a Chinese-controlled man-made island in the South China Sea.

China’s Defense Ministry urged the U.S.to stop such unsafe and provocative actions, which have become another source of tension between both countries along with the US government’s announcement of a new arms sale to Taiwan last week.

The ministry demanded that the USA immediately adopt measures to avoid such unsafe actions in order to prevent damaging relations between the two militaries and countries.

As is China’s usual practice the Foreign Ministry took a more diplomatic tone.

Navy officials said at the time that the sail-past was necessary to assert the US position that China’s man-made islands can not be considered sovereign territory with the right to surrounding territorial waters. However, Washington insists on freedom of navigation and maintains that China’s seven newly created islands do not enjoy traditional rights, including a 12-nautical-mile (22-kilometer) territorial limit.

“The issue with the United States has to do with the fact that the South China Sea is widely believed to contain a fair number of reserves regarding oil and natural gas and of course, obviously, the United States wants access to this oil and natural gas”, said Preston, chief editor and director of AttacktheSystem.com.

On Saturday, when China protested over the flight of B-52 bomber close to Spratly islands, the United States said it would launch an investigation into the matter to check whether the flight had violated China’s air space.

“This behaviour is a serious military provocation which complicates the general situation in the South China Sea, (contributing) to the militarisation of the region”, it said. In China’s case, the economy that has been slowing down can seriously hamper the Chinese ambition to subdue its neighbours, if it disproportionately prioritizes the long-running disputes in the South China Sea at the expense of more pressing issues at home. Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that the situation was essentially stable, but that outside nations should not “manufacture tensions”.

“The United States routinely conducts B-52 training missions throughout the region, including over the South China Sea”, Wright said in an email to The Associated Press.

Yet, considering the us guided missile destroyer USS Lassen illegally entered waters near Zhubi Reef, part of China’s Nansha Islands, on Oct 28, on what the USA disingenuously called a “freedom of navigation” mission, it is only natural that many Chinese do not feel convinced by the Pentagon’s explanation.

The main contractor behind the weaponry is Raytheon.

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