Beijing criticizes US B-52 bomber missions as ‘provocative’

China yesterday labeled a recent mission by nuclear-capable U.S. B-52 bombers over the disputed South China Sea as “provocative,” and said the U.S. was solely responsible for a recent downturn in relations between their militaries.

Defense Ministry spokesman Ren Guoqiang also reiterated at a monthly briefing China’s objections to a recent U.S. arms sale to Taiwan and the imposition of U.S. sanctions over China’s purchase of Russian defense equipment.

“As for the provocative action taken by the U.S. military aircraft, we are firmly against it and we will take all necessary means to safeguard our rights and interests,” Ren said.

Two B-52s flew over the strategic waterway, largely claimed by China, earlier this week in what the Pentagon called a routine mission. Separately, two B-52s also flew this week over the East China Sea, where China has declared an air defense identification zone and claims uninhabited islands controlled by Japan.

China has sought to strengthen its claim to the South China Sea by building seven islands on reefs and equipping them with military facilities such as airstrips, radar domes and missile systems. Five other governments claim territory in the oil- and gas-rich area through which an estimated $5 trillion in global trade passes annually.

Asked at the Pentagon on Wednesday about the bomber flights, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said he wasn’t concerned they might raise tensions with Beijing.

“That just goes on. If it was 20 years ago and had they not militarized those features there it would have been just another bomber on its way to Diego Garcia or wherever,” Mattis said, according to a Pentagon transcript, referring to a key U.S. base in the Indian Ocean.

“So there’s nothing out of the ordinary about it,” Mattis said.

Mattis also said he didn’t believe the sides were witnessing a “fundamental shift in anything.”

“We’re just going through one of those periodic points where we’ve got to learn to manage our differences,” he said. MDT/AP