Asia on the verge of a full blown arms race<\/p>\n
Paul Joseph Watson<\/strong><\/p>\n In a move designed to challenge China’s \u201cair defense zone,\u201d the US flew two B-52 Bombers over disputed islands in the East China Sea just days after Beijing implicitly threatened to shoot down aircraft entering the area.<\/p>\n Image: B-52 Bomber (Wikimedia Commons).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Over the weekend, China released a map which included the clustered Senkaku islands and warned that all aircraft entering the zone must immediately identify themselves to Chinese authorities and face \u201cemergency military measures.\u201d<\/p>\n However, the US flew two B-52 bombers through the zone during a training mission today without notifying Beijing. There was no response from China. In conducting the mission, the Pentagon followed through on its promise that US pilots would not switch on their transponders and would defend themselves if attacked.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have continued to follow our normal procedures, which include not filing flight plans, not radioing ahead and not registering our frequencies,\u201d said US Colonel Steve Warren.<\/p>\n Although the B-52 flyover was part of a pre-planned exercise, it has been characterized<\/a> as a clear act of defiance against China’s territorial claims.<\/p>\n Japan responded to the Chinese threat by accusing Beijing of engaging in \u201cprofoundly dangerous acts that unilaterally change the status quo,\u201d adding that the defense zone was \u201cnot valid at all.\u201d<\/p>\n