Chinese Aggressions

Two B-52s fly by contested islands amid rising tensions with China
By Ryan Browne

Chinese weapons installed on contested islands 
Washington -- Two US B-52 bombers flew within the vicinity of the contested Spratly Islands in the South China Sea Monday, according to a US defense official.
The flyovers came a day after Secretary of Defense James Mattis called Beijing out over its militarization of the islands, accusing China of "intimidation and coercion" in the Indo-Pacific, making clear the US has no plans to leave the region and prompting a furious Chinese response.
Beijing claims the Spratly Islands, but those claims aren't recognized by the US or by China's neighbors -- Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines -- which also say the islands are theirs. 

China has used geographic features in the Spratlys to build man-made islands, some of which it has equipped with military facilities including anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles.
The US defense official, who has knowledge of the mission's original flight plan, said it called for the nuclear capable B-52 bombers to fly about 20 miles from the islands.
US Air Force Capt. Victoria Hight, a spokeswoman for US Pacific Air Forces, denied that the bombers had flown in the vicinity of the islands.

Mattis takes hard line on China in Singapore speech

A spokesman for the Pentagon said the Guam-based bombers were on "a routine training mission," flying from Andersen Air Force Base in the US territory "to the Navy Support Facility" located in the UK Indian Ocean territory of Diego Garcia.
Lt. Col. Chris Logan said the operation was part of US Pacific Command's "Continuous Bomber Presence" missions, which he said are "intended to maintain the readiness of US forces."
"US Pacific Command's CBP missions, which have been routinely employed since March 2004, are flown in accordance with international law," he added.
The flyover came shortly after Mattis used a Saturday speech in Singapore to accuse China of "intimidation and coercion" in the region and declared that the United States does not plan to abandon its role there.
"Make no mistake: America is in the Indo-Pacific to stay," Mattis said. 

"This is our priority theater."

Mattis specifically called out Beijing's militarization of artificial islands in the South China Sea, home to some of the world's busiest sea lanes. 

"We are aware China will face an array of challenges and opportunities in coming years, we are prepared to support China's choices if they promote long-term peace and prosperity for all in this dynamic region," Mattis said.
The Pentagon last week ratcheted up rhetoric about China's militarization of islands in the South China Sea, even as the Trump administration presses China for cooperation on North Korea.

US warns of ability to take down Chinese artificial islands

When asked by a reporter about the ability of the US to "blow apart" one of China's controversial man-made islands, Lt. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, director of the Joint Staff, told reporters, "I would just tell you that the United States military has had a lot of experience in the Western Pacific taking down small islands."
His comments -- a reference to US amphibious landings and capture of Japanese held islands during World War II -- come amid growing tension in the hotly contested region, as the US ramps up freedom of navigation operations in response to China's steady militarization of its artificial islands.
The Chinese government has reacted furiously to the recent US statements. 

Chinese Aggressions

U.S. air force trains in vicinity of South China Sea
By Tim Kelly, Ben Blanchard

TOKYO/BEIJING -- U.S. Air Force B-52 bombers have carried out training in the vicinity of the South China Sea and the southern Japanese island of Okinawa, the Air Force said on Friday, in what a Chinese newspaper linked to China’s drills near Taiwan.
The U.S. Air Force said the B-52s took off from Andersen Air Force Base on the U.S. Pacific island of Guam and “transited to the vicinity of the South China Sea” on Tuesday.
“The B-52Hs conducted training and then transited to the vicinity of Okinawa to conduct training with USAF F-15C Strike Eagles, before returning to Guam,” it said.
“Continuous Bomber Presence (CBP) missions are intended to maintain the readiness of U.S. forces. The U.S. Pacific Command’s CBP missions, which have been routinely employed since March 2004, are in accordance with international law.”
An Air Force spokeswoman said: “This was a routine mission”.
The exercise was reported in Taiwanese media this week, which speculated it could have been a warning from the United States to China following China’s stepped-up military presence around Taiwan, the self-ruled island Beijing claims as its own.
Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Wu Qian was asked about the U.S. bombers at a news briefing on Thursday but would only say Chinese armed forces had the situation under control and would defend the country’s sovereignty, as always.
On Friday, the ministry referred Reuters to Wu’s previous statement, without elaborating.
China has been issuing increasingly strident warnings to Taiwan to toe the line and has been flying military aircraft around the island in what China calls “encirclement patrols”.
Beijing fears Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, wants to push for the island’s formal independence. 

Tsai says she wants to maintain the status quo and peace with China.
The widely read Chinese state-run tabloid the Global Times said in an editorial on Friday if the U.S. bombers were meant to send a message to Beijing about Taiwan it would not work.
“The U.S. cannot prevent the mainland exerting military pressure on Taiwan,” it said.
“Mainland military aircraft will fly closer and closer to Taiwan and in the end fly above the island,” the paper said.
“If the Taiwan authorities openly promote the ‘Taiwan independence’ policy and cut off all official contacts with the mainland, the mainland will deem Taiwan a hostile regime and has endless means to deal with it.”
Taiwan and the South China Sea are two major faultlines between Washington and Beijing.
China has been angered by U.S. “freedom of navigation” patrols in the disputed South China Sea, where China has reclaimed land for military bases, and by U.S. support for democratic Taiwan.
As part of China’s military modernization, its new aircraft carrier could soon begin sea trials, according to images on Chinese news portals this week of the vessel leaving its dock in the northern city of Dalian.
On Friday, the government warned shipping to keep away from an area off Dalian for a week, for what it called military activities, but gave no further explanation.