US B-52 bombers have recently conducted transit operations in the South China Sea and East China Sea, the Pentagon said Wednesday, amid soaring tensions with Beijing over trade tariffs. Late Tuesday the heavy bombers “participated in a regularly scheduled, combined operation in the East China Sea,” Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Dave Eastburn said. A defense official said the nuclear-capable aircrafts were escorted by Japanese fighters and the flight was part of the Pentagon’s “continuous bomber presence” in the region.

US B-52s fly over South and East China Seas. (2018, September 28). Manila Bulletin, pp. 1, 12.