The U.S. military has sent a nuclear-capable mainstay of its aerial might over the disputed South China Sea, where China has laid claim to trillions of dollars worth of oil and gas reserves.
"Two B-52H Stratofortress bombers took off from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, and conducted routine training in the vicinity of the South China Sea before returning to base."
The move followed reports last week of another pair of B-52s flying over China-claimed islands in the South China Sea as the U.S. participated in the COPE North 2019 exercise alongside regional allies Australia and Japan.
It also came just a day after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Beijing of "illegal island-building in international waterways" in order to block other claimants to the South China Sea "from accessing more than $2.5 trillion in recoverable energy reserves."
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