USA blåser i Kinas ADIZ

China says it monitored U.S. B-52s that flew through its new air zone

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By Jethro Mullen, CNN

November 27, 2013 -- Updated 1526 GMT (2326 HKT)

Japan, China in dispute over claimed space

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The Chinese military says it identified the U.S. military aircraft
• U.S. official: B-52s didn't tell Beijing about flights over China's new air defense zone
• Washington and Tokyo have criticized Beijing's declaration of the new zone
• They say it increases tensions and raises risks of an incident

Hong Kong (CNN) -- Tensions are running high in the skies between China and Japan -- and the United States is refusing to stay on the sidelines.

After Beijing upset the region by declaring a new air defense zone over a large part of the East China Sea, Washington responded by flying two unarmed B-52 bombers through the area.

The U.S. aircraft ignored China's new demands that planes that fly through the zone identify themselves and submit flight plans to Chinese authorities.

The delicate situation is a test of how China's increasingly assertive approach beyond its borders will play out against the U.S. government's promise to focus more on Asia and uphold commitments to its allies.

 Maphowo

Map showing the controversial air defense identification zone in the East China Sea.

"China is busy designing and implementing a bolder foreign policy in light of an anticipated U.S. decline," Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt, director of Asia-Pacific programs at the U.S. Institute of Peace, writes in a commentary for CNN.com this week.

The air zone declaration is a clear example of the new approach of Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has been in power for about a year, according to Kleine-Ahlbrandt.

"Unlike his predecessors, Xi is making foreign policy with the mindset of a great power, increasingly probing U.S. commitments to its allies in the region and exploiting opportunities to change the status quo," she says.

But for the time being, the U.S. government is standing its ground in the East China Sea.

READ: B-52s defy China's new air defense zone