US B-52 bombers challenge disputed China air zone
The
US has flown two B-52 bombers over disputed islands in the East China
Sea in defiance of new Chinese air defence rules, officials say.
China
set up its "air defence identification zone" on Saturday insisting that
aircraft obey its rules or face "emergency defensive measures".
A Pentagon spokesman said the planes had followed "normal procedures".
The islands, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, are a source of rising tension between the two nations.
Japan has dismissed the Chinese defence zone as "not valid at all" and
two of its biggest airlines announced on Tuesday they would abide by a
request from the government in Tokyo not to implement the new rules.
'Normal procedures'
"We have conducted operations in the area of the Senkakus," said US Colonel Steve Warren.
"We
have continued to follow our normal procedures, which include not
filing flight plans, not radioing ahead and not registering our
frequencies."
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