US B52 aircraft challenge China air zone

US flies B52 aircraft over disputed islands in East China Sea in defiance of Chinese air defence rules - officials More to follow.

BBC news

its on BBC world service to! two B52's
are they trying to start a war?
I thought these silly games stopt with the end of USSR?

USA the Bully of the world!

reply to post by buddha


Japan has already announced that ANA and Japan Air Lines won't file flight plans through there starting tomorrow. They're just going to fly commercial flights through the area as scheduled. They've also flown military aircraft through there, before the B-52s.

I love this mentality. China declares an illegal ADIZ, and lays claim to every island in the area whether they have a claim to them or not, but that's fine. The US flies through it, in support of our ally, and we're the bullies of the world.

reply to post by buddha


There's no choice. The bully here, IMO, is China and if left unchallenged, they would possibly move on and do the same things to those island in the Spratleys off the Philippines.

And tomorrow the headline is 'China Dumps $1 trillion in US debt overnight'.

You rather China be the Bully or stay with the USA?

Zaphod, In your opinion is there a reason behind using the B-52, and not some other aircraft, for the fly-over?

khimbar
And tomorrow the headline is 'China Dumps $1 trillion in US debt overnight'.

Doubtful, seems they are more attached to it than we are.

I know china is bad for stuff like this. Tibet...
But to fly B52 over them!
I wounder if they have nuclear bombs on them?
this is to much.

they should use politics first.
have Japan increase its air space.

B52's say we will Bomb you!
and that should be the last thing they do.
not the first.

reply to post by METACOMET


Range and self defense ability. It's a lot more likely to be able to get out of the area in one piece before a response than say an RC-135 or P-3 could. And it has the ability to jam the crap out of any ships in the area to mess up their firing solution. Two of them together could just about shut down any ship launched missile uplink out there at that range.

reply to post by buddha

B52's say we will Bomb you!
and that should be the last thing they do.
not the first.

B-52s are still front line bombers but they are neither real fast or are the stealthy. One thing they are, though, is unmistakable. They send a message to China that says... your claim don't hold water.

buddha
I wounder if they have nuclear bombs on them?

Wow, straight from "bullies" to nuclear weapons. Fear monger much?

A B-52 is a tool, just like an F-15 or RC-135. Have you really looked at a B-52 and compared it to current defensive systems? Obviously not, as you're stuck in Cold War thinking. A B-52 is a second line bomber, that is incapable of penetrating any front line defenses, or even penetrating heavily defended airspace without having air superiority achieved. It is not saying "We are going to bomb you". It's saying that we're serious about what you've done, and we're going to fly through here, but we're not going to escalate things much. A B-2 would be saying "We're going to bomb you". A Carrier Group would be saying "We're going to bomb you."

Oh right I forgot, its okay for the US to impose a no flight zone over... say < insert country that opposes America's interest > but heck if China does it.

Don't get me wrong, China IS the aggressor here, but the hypocrisy gets me every time.

I actually think it is kinda funny. I have long thought China is gonna cutoff the USA from cheap goods one day in order to provoke riots in our streets. (Think Black Friday but instead of an xbox it's food they are after).

Time is ripe for World War. If they are gonna do it lets just get on with it already.

I have a feeling we will be hearing from the Chinese that this was never an official policy and that the entire thing was a misunderstanding to save face. The problem for China as it tries to bully the other smaller nations in the region is they are not afraid as long as the US backing them up. China has no real global plan it kind of just responds to things as the happen without any real long term planning. This is how they come off looking bad for low balling aid to the Phillipines and just how they deal with world in general. Say what you will about the US but, they know how the world works and how to take advantage of it.

reply to post by Senduko


Funny that the US gets blamed for that one when it was the UN and NATO that imposed it.

reply to post by Zaphod58


This is a territorial dispute between Japan and China. But once again, the US can't help stick it's nose somewhere it's not needed or required. Sending bombers to overfly these islands just serves to escalate tensions...this is why the US is disliked so much all over the world.

reply to post by Senduko

Oh right I forgot, its okay for the US to impose a no flight zone over... say Libya or any country for that matter, but heck if China does it.

If I may... and this is just an opinion based on what I think I know of the world around me...

The US sent a pair of old B-52 bombers to violate what amounted to an expansionist effort by the PRC. We did this for two reasons; to discourage China from seeking to create a sphere of domination and to support our strongest and most reliable ally in the immediate area; Japan.

Now, my military experience was in US Army signal and field artillery so I have no hands-on like our resident mod, Zaphod and would in no way seek to pretend that I was worthy of that degree of respect. But the obvious here is just too obvious... had the US NOT responded, the PRC would have assumed that we, the US, approved of their claim.

We had to act.

reply to post by deadcalm


The US is required under treaty to support Japan. It's a dispute between China and one of our allies. So we should just say "Screw our allies. You need help, but to improve our image around the world we're going to screw you. You're on your own, have fun with that." Hell, why not just let China roll all over the entire Asian world, and the US will sit back and watch. Treaty be damned.

reply to post by redoubt


You're pretty much dead on. No reaction is seen as covert support. So we had to do something. A B-2 is too aggressive, and fighters aren't enough. So the B-52 was the right fit for the mission required.

reply to post by Zaphod58


Maybe not Libya, but lets be honest here, the message is clear. Its okay for the US to play by its own rules but when another nation does it.

I know you are better informed then me regarding US military operations,so i'l redact Libya.