Chinese long-range bombers join South China Sea drills

Beijing, July 30: China said on Thursday that long-range bombers were among the aircraft that took part in recent aerial drills over the South China Sea amid rising tensions between Washington and Beijing over the strategic waterway.

The exercises included nighttime takeoffs and landings and simulated long-range attacks, Defence Ministry spokesperson Ren Guoqiang said. Among the planes were H6G and H-6K bombers, upgraded versions of planes long in use with the People's Liberation Army Air Force and the People's Liberation Army Navy Air Force, Ren said.

He said the exercises had been previously scheduled and were aimed at boosting pilot abilities to operate under all natural conditions. It wasn’t clear whether live bombs were used. Ren’s statement appeared to distance the drills from recent accusations exchanged between the sides over China’s claim to virtually all of the South China Sea, which it has buttressed in recent years by building man-made islands equipped with runways. The US this month for the first time rejected China’s claims outright, prompting Beijing to accuse it of seeking to create discord between China and its neighbours. Five other governments also exercise claims in the South China Sea, through which around $5 trillion in trade is transported annually.

Previously, US policy had been to insist that maritime disputes between China and its smaller neighbours be resolved peacefully through UNbacked arbitration. But in a statement, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US now regards virtually all Chinese maritime claims outside its internationally recognised waters to be illegitimate.

The shift does not involve disputes over land features that are above sea level, which are considered to be “territorial” in nature. “The world will not allow Beijing to treat the South China Sea as its maritime empire,” Pompeo said.