China is "furious" because B-52s flew too close to illegally constructed artificial islands.
On December 19, China accused the United States of "serious military provocation" after two of its B-52 bombers flew close to artificial islands that China has illegally built in the South China Sea.
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| A US military B-52 bomber (Source: Reuters) |
"On the morning of December 10, two B-52s entered the airspace over the Spratly Islands and the surrounding area without permission from the competent authorities," the Chinese Ministry of Defense said in a statement, brazenly referring to Vietnam's Spratly Islands as Nansha, as Beijing calls them.
Previously, the Wall Street Journal, citing sources from the Pentagon, reported that while on a mission, a US B-52 bomber mistakenly flew into the 2-nautical-mile zone around an artificial island built by China in the South China Sea.
According to the report, one of the two aircraft on the mission flew closer than expected in the area surrounding Chau Vien Reef (which China calls Hoa Duong Tieu) in the Spratly Islands.
The Wall Street Journal also reported that the Pentagon is currently investigating why the B-52 aircraft flew so close to the reef.
Earlier, on November 12, the Pentagon announced that a US B-52 bomber had flown near artificial islands built by China in the South China Sea.
Last October, in response to a reporter's question asking for Vietnam's reaction to the recent US voyage through the area of several geographical features belonging to Vietnam's Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands, Spokesperson of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Hai Binh stated: “As a sovereign nation with sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands in the East Sea and a member of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Vietnam respects the freedom of navigation and overflight in the East Sea on the basis of relevant provisions of the Convention and in accordance with the regulations of coastal states.”
"Vietnam calls on all relevant parties to make positive contributions to maintaining peace, stability, security, and safety of maritime and air navigation in the East Sea on the basis of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC)."
According to Vietnam+
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