WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two U.S. military aircraft have flown around disputed islands in the East China Sea without informing China, a Pentagon spokesman said on Tuesday, defying China's declaration that the region falls into a new airspace defence zone. "We have conducted operations in the area of the Senkakus. We have continued to follow our normal procedures, which include not filing flight plans, not radioing ahead and not registering our frequencies," Colonel Steve Warren added, using the Japanese name for the islands. There was no Chinese response, Warren said.
Best part 2 B-52's Sadly Major Kong was not available. ........... The two unarmed U.S. B-52 bombers took off from their home base in Guam and flew through China's newly designated air defense zone, then returned to base, U.S. officials said. The bombers were in the zone for less than an hour, thundering across the Pacific skies during midday there, the officials said, adding that the aircraft encountered no problems. While the U.S. insisted the training mission was long-planned, it came just days after China issued a map and a new set of rules governing the zone, which includes a cluster of islands that are controlled by Japan but claimed by Beijing. U.S. officials would not publicly acknowledge the flights on Tuesday, but State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said China's move appeared to be an attempt to change the status quo in the East China Sea.
Slow, nuke capable, with a radar signature of a flying aircraft carrier. Sort of like an airborne middle finger. Light up your radar, we are hangin' in the hood when and where we please.
China has sent its only aircraft carrier on a training mission in the South China Sea, where Beijing is engaged in tense territorial disputes with several of its neighbors. State media say the Liaoning departed Tuesday from its home port in the northern city of Qingdao, accompanied by two destroyers and a missile cruiser. Chinese naval officials described the carrier's mission as routine, saying it will conduct scientific research, tests and military drills. It is the Liaoning's first long-term training mission since being commissioned last year, amid concerns about China's growing military capabilities.
