By JULIAN E. BARNES in Washington and JEREMY PAGE in Beijing
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 (ADIZ) at about 7 p.m. Washington time Monday, according to a U.S. official.
Over the weekend, Beijing said it was establishing an air-defense zone covering Japanese Senkaku islands.
U.S. defense officials earlier had promised that the U.S. would challenge the zone and wouldn't comply with Chinese requirements to file a flight plan, radio frequency or transponder information.
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 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.
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 establishment of the new zone was certain to have been approved by Xi Jinping, China's new leader, who became military chief at the same time as taking over as head of the Communist Party in November last year, analysts and diplomats said.
They see the move as part of a long-term strategy to try to gradually change the status quo in the East China Sea, and make it increasingly costly for Japan to enforce its claims, without ever crossing the red lines that might provoke an actual military conflict.
But some analysts now believe that China might have overplayed its hand by angering not just Japan and the U.S., but South Korea and Taiwan—both of which have air-defense zones that overlap China's—and several other countries that have territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.
The U.S. official said that China didn't make contact with the B-52s as they flew over the islands.
The establishment of the new zone was certain to have been approved by Xi Jinping, China's new leader, who became military chief at the same time as taking over as head of the Communist Party in November last year, analysts and diplomats said.
They see the move as part of a long-term strategy to try to gradually change the status quo in the East China Sea, and make it increasingly costly for Japan to enforce its claims, without ever crossing the red lines that might provoke an actual military conflict.
But some analysts now believe that China might have overplayed its hand by angering not just Japan and the U.S., but South Korea and Taiwan—both of which have air-defense zones that overlap China's—and several other countries that have territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.
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 planes flew a pattern that included passing through the ADIZ," the official said.
"The flight was without incident."
Calls to China's foreign and defense ministries went unanswered.
U.S. officials said they believe they had to challenge the ADIZ to make clear they don't consider the Chinese move to be appropriate.
Calls to China's foreign and defense ministries went unanswered.
U.S. officials said they believe they had to challenge the ADIZ to make clear they don't consider the Chinese move to be appropriate.
But they said they don't believe U.S. flights over the island will create a military conflict.
The White House said the territorial dispute between China and Japan should be solved diplomatically.
The White House said the territorial dispute between China and Japan should be solved diplomatically.
"The policy announced by the Chinese over the weekend is unnecessarily inflammatory," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters in California, where President Barack Obama was traveling.
"These are the kinds of differences that should not be addressed with threats or inflammatory language," he said.
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.
"These are the kinds of differences that should not be addressed with threats or inflammatory language," he said.
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.
"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.
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.
Qin Gang, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, told a regular news briefing earlier in the day Tuesday that China's new zone wouldn't affect regular international civilian flights, according to a transcript on the Foreign Ministry web site.
Asked if China would take military action against aircraft that didn't comply with its demands in the zone, Mr. Qin said: "It was written very clearly in the announcement. With regard to the question you've asked, the Chinese side will make an appropriate response according to the different circumstances and the threat level that it might face."
China's Defense Ministry said Saturday that the Chinese military would take "defensive emergency measures" against aircraft that didn't obey the rules in the new zone.
Qin Gang, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, told a regular news briefing earlier in the day Tuesday that China's new zone wouldn't affect regular international civilian flights, according to a transcript on the Foreign Ministry web site.
Asked if China would take military action against aircraft that didn't comply with its demands in the zone, Mr. Qin said: "It was written very clearly in the announcement. With regard to the question you've asked, the Chinese side will make an appropriate response according to the different circumstances and the threat level that it might face."
China's Defense Ministry said Saturday that the Chinese military would take "defensive emergency measures" against aircraft that didn't obey the rules in the new zone.
It didn't specify what those measures would be.
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.
A Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman said Saturday that China was planning to establish more ADIZs, and many analysts expect one of them to be over the South China Sea, where China's claims overlap with those of Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei.
China had made some progress in easing tensions over the South China Sea in recent months with a charm offensive in Southeast Asia that was helped by President Obama's failure to attend a regional summit in Brunei in October because of the U.S. government shutdown.
That was seen by many Asian governments as a sign of declining U.S. influence, despite its pledge to refocus military and other resources on the region as part of a so-called "pivot" toward Asia.
Beijing's progress was undermined in the eyes of many, however, when it initially announced a donation of just $100,000 to help victims of a devastating typhoon in the Philippines, while the U.S. sent an aircraft carrier to spearhead the relief effort.
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.
A Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman said Saturday that China was planning to establish more ADIZs, and many analysts expect one of them to be over the South China Sea, where China's claims overlap with those of Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei.
China had made some progress in easing tensions over the South China Sea in recent months with a charm offensive in Southeast Asia that was helped by President Obama's failure to attend a regional summit in Brunei in October because of the U.S. government shutdown.
That was seen by many Asian governments as a sign of declining U.S. influence, despite its pledge to refocus military and other resources on the region as part of a so-called "pivot" toward Asia.
Beijing's progress was undermined in the eyes of many, however, when it initially announced a donation of just $100,000 to help victims of a devastating typhoon in the Philippines, while the U.S. sent an aircraft carrier to spearhead the relief effort.
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