WASHINGTON - US B-52 bombers have recently conducted transit operations in the South China Sea and East China Sea, the Pentagon said Wednesday, amid soaring tensions with Beijing over trade tariffs. A B-52 bomber during a 2016 fly-by in FranceLate Tuesday the heavy bombers "participated in a regularly scheduled, combined operation in the East China Sea," Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Dave Eastburn said. Earlier in the week, B-52s flew through "international airspace over the South China Sea," Eastburn said. China has claimed large swaths of the strategic waterway and built up a series of islands and maritime features, turning them into military facilities. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said he was not concerned the US transit flights would increase tensions with China.

Source: Bangkok Post September 26, 2018 20:37 UTC