Stadig gnissing mellom Kina og USA nær Spratleys - CNN

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U.S. Bomber Mistakenly Flew Near Disputed Island in South China Sea

By HELENE COOPER and MICHAEL FORSYTHEDEC. 18, 2015

                                    

“What the United States did was a serious military provocation, complicating the situation in the South China Sea, to the extent of militarizing it,” the ministry said in a statement posted on its website. “We demand that the United States immediately take action to prevent such dangerous actions from taking place, and not damage bilateral military relations.”

But the Chinese gave no indication that they would take any specific actions in response, stating only that “China’s military will take all necessary means and measures to safeguard the country’s sovereignty and security.”

Captain Davis said that “for this mission there was no intention of flying within 12 nautical miles” of the island, using a phrase that seemed intended to show that it was only for this particular mission that the United States did not mean to fly close to the islands.

In October, a United States Navy destroyer made a point of entering waters near the Spratly Islands in a challenge to China’s claim that the chain is within its territorial borders. The ship, the Lassen, a guided-missile destroyer, sailed within 12 nautical miles of the islands, and American officials did not inform their Chinese counterparts as they planned the maneuver, saying that to do so would have undercut their message.

News of the B-52 flight, and the Chinese response, came days after the United States announced a planned $1.83 billion arms sale to Taiwan, angering China, which said it would sanction American companies that made the armaments. China considers Taiwan, which has been governed separately since 1949, to be a breakaway province.