| CNN.com - Top Stories |
| CNN.com delivers up-to-the-minute news and information on the latest top stories, weather, entertainment, politics and more. |
U.S. B-52s defy China's new air zone
11/26/2013 11:13:01 PM
- NEW: Chinese aircraft carrier group heads to the South China Sea
- 2 U.S. B-52 planes fly over China's newly claimed air zone, U.S. official says
- They don't tell China about their flight plans, as Beijing has said it wants
- The U.S. has sided with Japan; China calls the U.S. position "irresponsible"
(CNN) -- Two U.S. military aircraft flew into China's newly claimed and challenged air defense zone over the East China Sea, a U.S. official said, an action that could inflame tensions between the world powers.
The large U.S. Air Force B-52 planes -- which were not armed because they were on a training mission -- set off Monday from Guam and returned there without incident. The mission lasted for several hours, and the aircraft were in China's newly declared air zone for about an hour, according to the U.S. official.
The planes' pilots did not identify themselves upon entering the disputed airspace, as China would have wanted, according to the official.
The official declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the situation.
The flights came two days after China unilaterally announced the creation of a so-called "Air Defense Identification Zone" over several islands it and Japan have both claimed. The two countries have been sharply at odds over those isles, which are believed to be near large reserves of natural resources.
Washington responded negatively to what Secretary of State John Kerry characterized as an "escalatory action (that) will only increase tensions in the region and create risks of an incident." And the U.S. government has rallied around its ally Japan, where thousands of its troops are stationed as part of a security treaty.
And specifically regarding China's new air defense zone, the United States has said it won't recognize it -- nor China's call that aircraft entering it identify themselves and file flight plans.
Beijing, though, has dismissed the American position as unjustified and urged Washington to butt out of the territorial dispute.
Chinese defense ministry spokesman Col. Yang Yujun on Sunday called such criticism "completely unreasonable," "irresponsible" and "inappropriate," telling the United States to stop taking sides and not send more "wrong signals" that could lead to a "risky move by Japan."
And China's foreign ministry lodged a formal complaint with U.S. Ambassador Gary Locke asking Washington "to correct its mistakes immediately."
Long-running dispute over islands
The disagreement centers around what's known as the Senkaku Islands by Japan and the Diaoyu Islands by China, which are close to strategically important shipping lanes and surrounded by waters full of rich marine life.
China says its claim to these islands extends back hundreds of years. Japan, on the other hand, says it saw no trace of Chinese control of the islands in an 1885 survey, so formally recognized them as Japanese sovereign territory in 1895. Japan then sold the islands in 1932 to descendants of the original settlers.
The dispute intensified in the second half of 2012.
Why China's new air zone incensed Japan, U.S.
Protests erupted in China after Japan announced it had bought several of the disputed islands from private Japanese owners. The deal was struck in part to prevent the islands from being bought by the controversial Tokyo governor, Shintaro Ishihara, who had called for donations for a public fund to buy them.
This sale outraged China's government, and groups of its citizens who protested violently in several Chinese cities, calling for boycotts of Japanese products and urging the government to give the islands back.
In December 2012, the dispute escalated further when Japan scrambled fighter jets after a Chinese plane was seen near the islands. That situation has recurred repeatedly since, and China's latest announcement makes it likely it will keep happening.
At sea, Chinese ships have frequently entered contested waters despite warnings from the Japanese Coast Guard.
China slams 'inappropriate' U.S. remarks on territorial dispute with Japan
Chinese aircraft carrier group on the move
China's military, meanwhile, announced on its website early Wednesday that its navy's sole aircraft carrier was heading toward the South China Sea.
That's where China has had territorial disputes with other Asian nations including the Philippines and Vietnam. At the same time, the East China Sea -- where it recently declared an "air defense zone" causing a stir with Japan and its ally the United States -- is not far away.
The carrier, named Liaoning, set out from a shipyard in eastern China's Qingdao city on Tuesday morning, the military said on its website.
As with U.S. aircraft carriers, it doesn't travel alone: Two guided missile destroyers and two guided missile frigates are accompanying the massive ship as part of its group.
Why?
The Chinese military makes no mention of the dispute with Japan and its ally, the United States. Rather, its website post notes that the carrier group's mission is to conduct scientific experiments and for military training.
CNN's Kevin Wang and Greg Botelho contributed to this report.
You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at feedmyinbox.com
If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions
No comments:
Post a Comment