Two U.S. bombers recently flew over manmade islands in the South China Sea, the Pentagon confirmed Thursday.
The overflight is the second U.S. operation in the past month in the region where the Chinese claim ownership of several islands that the international community does not recognize as sovereign land.
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Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook told reporters on Thursday that the U.S. conducts B-52 flights in international air space over the South China Sea “all the time.”
“There was an effort made by Chinese ground controllers to reach out to that aircraft and that aircraft continued its mission unabated. Nothing changed,” Cook said.
The flight happened over the weekend, according to a Pentagon spokesman.
“On a flight that took off and returned to Guam on Nov. 8 & 9 respectively, two B-52s flying a routine mission in international airspace in the vicinity of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea received two verbal warnings from a Chinese ground controller despite never venturing within 15 nautical miles of any feature,” Cmdr. Bill Urban said. “Both aircraft continued their mission without incident, and at all times operated fully in accordance with international law.
Last month, the destroyer USS Lassen sailed within 12 nautical miles of the Spratly Islands in a move many in Congress said was long overdue to challenge China’s claims in the region.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., called on the Pentagon this week to publicly clarify that the purpose of that mission was a freedom-of-navigation operation after officials said the ship did not conduct any military operations during the passage. Analysts warned that, without any military drills, the mission could have been interpreted as innocent passage through a sovereign waterway, which would have reinforced China’s claim to the territory.
Freedom-of-navigation operations seek to challenge a country’s claim to territory seen as international space by the worldwide community. The law of innocent passage allows ships to pass through another country’s sovereign territory space, as long as the ship or plane does not disrupt the “peace, good order or security” of the country.
The Pentagon has given conflicting reports as to whether the Lassen operation in the South China Sea was innocent passage or a freedom-of-navigation mission. McCain said Defense Secretary Ash Carter needs to make a clear statement about the mission’s intent.
During this week’s GOP presidential undercard debate, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said he would fly over the contested manmade islands if elected as the next commander in chief.
“I’ll tell you this, the first thing I’ll do with the Chinese is I’ll fly Air Force One over those islands. They’ll know we mean business,” he said on the debate hosted by Fox Business Network and the Wall Street Journal.
