TOKYO • Two US bombers have flown over the disputed South China Sea, the United States Air Force said yesterday, asserting the right to treat the region as international territory despite China’s claim to virtually all of the waterway..
TOKYO • Two US bombers have flown over the disputed South China Sea, the United States Air Force said yesterday, asserting the right to treat the region as international territory despite China’s claim to virtually all of the waterway.
The flight by the B-1B Lancer bombers from Guam on Thursday came as US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping prepare for a meeting on the sidelines of a G-20 summit in Germany in which they were expected to discuss what China can do to rein in North Korea’s missile and nuclear weapon programmes.
North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile on Tuesday that some experts believe has the range to reach Alaska, Hawaii and perhaps the US Pacific north-west.
While Mr Trump has been seeking China’s help to press North Korea, the US military has been asserting its « freedom of navigation » rights in the South China Sea, at the risk of angering China.
The two US Lancers had earlier trained with Japanese jet fighters in the East China Sea, the first time the two forces had conducted joint night-time drills, said the US Pacific Air Forces public affairs office in a statement.
