U.S. Directly Challenges China's Air Defense Zone
Pair of American B-52 Bombers Fly Over Disputed Island Chain
By JULIAN E. BARNES CONNECT
Updated Nov. 26, 2013 12:41 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON—A pair of American B-52 bombers flew over a disputed island chain in the East China Sea without informing Beijing, U.S. officials said Tuesday, in a direct challenge to China and its establishment of an expanded air-defense zone.
The planes flew out of Guam and entered the new Chinese Air Defense Identification Zone at about 7 p.m. Washington time Monday, according to a U.S. official.
Pair of American B-52 Bombers Fly Over Disputed Island Chain
By JULIAN E. BARNES CONNECT
Updated Nov. 26, 2013 12:41 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON—A pair of American B-52 bombers flew over a disputed island chain in the East China Sea without informing Beijing, U.S. officials said Tuesday, in a direct challenge to China and its establishment of an expanded air-defense zone.
The planes flew out of Guam and entered the new Chinese Air Defense Identification Zone at about 7 p.m. Washington time Monday, according to a U.S. official.
The flight of the B-52s, based at Anderson Air Force Base in Guam, were part of a long-planned exercise called Coral Lightning. The bombers weren't armed and weren't accompanied by escort planes.
But the routine flight took on new significance with China's weekend announcement, and it counters Beijing's attempts to strengthen its influence over the region. China had warned that aircraft that don't comply could be subject to a military response.
The U.S. official said that China didn't make contact with the B-52s as they flew over the islands. The planes returned to Guam after the exercise.
But the routine flight took on new significance with China's weekend announcement, and it counters Beijing's attempts to strengthen its influence over the region. China had warned that aircraft that don't comply could be subject to a military response.
The U.S. official said that China didn't make contact with the B-52s as they flew over the islands. The planes returned to Guam after the exercise.
"The planes flew a pattern that included passing through the ADIZ," the official said. "The flight was without incident."
China is now requiring aircraft flying in the region to register their flight path with the Foreign Ministry, identify their transponder and their radio frequency. Col. Steve Warren, the Pentagon spokesman, said the U.S. wouldn't comply with those requirements.
"The United States military will continue conducting flight operations in the region, including with our allies and partners," said Col. Warren on Monday, prior to the B-52 flight. "We will not in any way change how we conduct our operations as a result of the Chinese policy of establishing an ADIZ, an Air Defense Identification Zone."
Col. Warren said the U.S. didn't agree with China's decision to establish the zone, and the U.S. wouldn't comply with it while flying over the disputed islands. "We see it as a destabilizing attempt to alter the status quo in the region," Col. Warren said.
Col. Warren said the U.S. didn't agree with China's decision to establish the zone, and the U.S. wouldn't comply with it while flying over the disputed islands. "We see it as a destabilizing attempt to alter the status quo in the region," Col. Warren said.
China's official Xinhua news agency announced earlier Tuesday that the country's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, was making its maiden voyage to the South China Sea, where China is also embroiled in territorial disputes with its neighbors.
The Liaoning left its homeport of Qingdao in eastern China on Tuesday and was being escorted by two destroyers and two frigates to the South China Sea where it would conduct training exercises, Xinhua said.
—Jeremy Page in Beijing contributed to this article.
Write to Julian E. Barnes at [email protected]
The Liaoning left its homeport of Qingdao in eastern China on Tuesday and was being escorted by two destroyers and two frigates to the South China Sea where it would conduct training exercises, Xinhua said.
—Jeremy Page in Beijing contributed to this article.
Write to Julian E. Barnes at [email protected]
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