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China again flies nuclear-capable bomber over South China Sea

China ‘sends message to Trump’ by flying nuclear-capable bomber over South China Sea for the first time since The Donald’s controversial phone call with Taiwan’s leader

• Chinese H-6 bomber was escorted by fighter jets over disputed South China Sea
• Pentagon officials say move was meant to send a message to Donald Trump
• Satellites also detect Chinese surface-to-air missiles being placed on an island
• Maneuvers come against backdrop of tensions stoked by call with Taiwan leader 

By Ariel Zilber For Dailymail.com and Reuters, 11 December 2016

China flew a long-range bomber capable of carrying nuclear weapons over the South China Sea in recent days, according to US officials.

The move appears to be Beijing’s way of flexing its military muscles in a worrying show of force that officials in Washington say is a message to President-elect Donald Trump, Fox News reported on Friday.

For the first time since Trump upended decades of diplomatic protocol and spoke on the phone with the leader of Taiwan, China flew aircraft over an area that includes disputed islands which it claims as its own.

The flight route corresponded to the so-called ‘Nine-Dash line,’ the demarcation boundary used by China to mark a number of islands that are also claimed by neighboring countries, including Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei……….

The US suspects that China is expanding its military reach into the South China Sea.

The latest military maneuvers are all the more disconcerting since they come against the backdrop of increasing tensions between Washington and Beijing.

Trump said on Thursday the United States needed to improve its relationship with China, which he criticized for its economic policies and failure to rein in North Korea. ……..

Trump criticized China repeatedly during his presidential campaign and drew a diplomatic protest from Beijing last week after speaking by phone with President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan, which China considers a wayward province.

It was the first such top-level contact with Taiwan by a US president-elect or president since President Jimmy Carter adopted a ‘one-China’ policy in 1979, recognizing only the Beijing government………http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4020646/China-sends-message-Trump-flying-nuclear-capable-bomber-South-China-Sea-time-Donald-s-controversial-phone-call-Taiwan-s-leader.html

December 12, 2016 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | weapons and war