By Jaime Ortega.
The Chinese Defense Ministry has revealed that It” has monitored ” and ” identified ” the two planes of the U.S. Air Force that flew the new Chinese air defense area , which includes the Diaoyu / Senkaku Islands, disputed between Beijing and Tokyo .
In a statement, the Chinese Defense Ministry said Tuesday that ” American planes flew near the Air Sea area of Eastern China. They flew from south to north and from north to south, 200 kilometers east of the Diaoyu. ”
“China is able to conduct surveillance and impose control” , it says in the text, which does not detail possible reprisals by the action of the two American B-52 bombers .
According to the Pentagon , two aircraft were interned on Monday afternoon ( Tuesday and Chinese times ) in the ” area of air defense identification ” china from Anderson Air Base in Guam (Pacific).
The two bombers took off from the base of Guam and flew Monday on Washington 19.00 ( 00.00 GMT Tuesday , 08.00 local time in Beijing ) the area of Chinese air defense warning to Beijing.
Last weekend, China announced the expansion of its ” air defense identification area ” in the East China Sea to include a chain of islands under Japanese control but whose sovereignty is disputed by Beijing , known as Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese .
The two B -52 performed a flyby planned within military exercises known as ” Lightning coral” and ” was part of an operation planned long ago” , said Pentagon sources .
None of the bombers carrying weapons was escorted by fighters.
At no time did the Army or the Chinese authorities contact the bombers, who returned to Guam without reporting any incident during the flight , the Pentagon said .
Meanwhile , the Japanese government announced Tuesday its national airlines need not submit their flight plans to China to cross the new air defense zone unilaterally decreed by Beijing, defining the sovereignty of the Chinese announcement .
China now requires that all aircraft previously submitted flight paths remain identified in the enlarged radio area, which has not only heightened tensions with Japan and Taiwan, which also claims the islands, but also with the U.S. , that maintains a bilateral defense treaty with Tokyo.
The U.S. Vice President Joe Biden made a trip to Japan , China and South Korea over the next 2 and December 7 , which is expected to engage with the authorities of the countries involved in the conflict of the uninhabited islands, but believed to hold important oil reserves.
