Air Force sends two B-52 bombers over East China Sea

The U.S. Air Force flew two B-52 bombers over the East China Sea and Sea of Japan in what it described as a "routine training" amid trade tensions with China.

Two nuclear-capable B-52H Stratofortress aircraft departed Andersen Air Force Base on the U.S. territory of Guam on Monday, U.S. Pacific Air Force spokeswoman Capt. Victoria Hight Aircraft told the Japan Times.

Spots, a Twitter account tracking movements of military aircraft, showed that the exercise took the bombers over the East China Sea and Sea of Japan for approximately 11 hours.

The jets, which can carry nuclear cruise missiles, are capable of flying at high subsonic speeds at altitudes up to 50,000 feet.

The United States and Japan regularly exercise in the East China Sea, which is part of the Indo-Pacific region. The U.S. Air Force said these missions "have been ongoing since March 2004" and "are consistent with international law and United States' long-standing and well-known freedom of navigation policies."

The East China Sea includes the Senkaku Islands, which are claimed by Japan and China. Beijing, which calls them the Diaoyu, also dispatches government ships and aircraft to the area.

In September 2018, two B-52Hs went over the East China Sea and the highly disputed South China Sea. At the time, Ren Guoqiang, a Chinese Ministry of Defense spokesperson, said at a news briefing: "As for the provocative action taken by the U.S. military aircraft, we are firmly against it and we will take all necessary means to safeguard our rights and interests."

In the South China Sea, six nations have competing claims: China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines. But Beijing, which has military outposts in the South China Sea and sees the sea lanes as vital, has no legal claim to the region, according to an international maritime tribunal ruling in 2016.

The B-52 flight comes as high-level U.S.-China talks were scheduled for Thursday in Washington in an attempt to find a solution to a trade war. Both nations have added tariffs on items each country exports to the other.

In December, President Donald Trump promised not to go through with a planned tariff hike -- from 10 percent to 25 percent -- on $200 billion worth of Chinese products. In exchange, Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to purchase a "very substantial" amount of agricultural, energy and industrial product from the United States.

Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com

Tweet

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

paypal only

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal

USS Donald Cook leaves Black Sea after exercises
Washington (UPI) Jan 28, 2019
The guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook left the Black Sea on Monday after conducting multinational exercises and stirring a Russian response. The Arleigh Burke-class ship entered the Black Sea on Jan. 19, as its movements monitored by Russia's Black Sea Fleet. The Russian frigate Pytlivy tracked the U.S. ship's movements. The USS Cook's arrival came two months after Russia seized three Ukrainian vessels in the Black Sea. The Ukrainian ships were fired upon, and 24 crew members were ... read more