The United States deployed nuclear-capable bombers twice this week over the highly contested South China Sea. Two B-52s flew over the islands largely claimed by China at the same time that another two B-25s flew over the East China Sea of which Beijing has overlapping territorial claims with Japan.
On Sept. 27, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Ren Guogiang described the U.S. move as "provocative."
Washington has no business over the heavily contested region that is rich in oil and gas and estimated to bring about $5 trillion yearly in global trade. The only nations with overlapping territorial claims with China are Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei.
The world's two largest economies are currently entwined in an escalating trade war over U.S. President Donald Trump's unfounded accusation that China has been breaching U.S. intellectual property rights and illegal transfer of technology.
The economic tensions between the two countries, however, seemed to have seeped through some important aspects of their geopolitical relations, including their military ties.
Just recently, China called the U.S. ambassador in Beijing and bowed out from an important military negotiation after Washington decided to sanction a Chinese military department after it purchased fighter jets and a surface-to-air missile system from Russia. Beijing has also refused a request from Washington to have one of its warship visit Hong Kong.
Lieutenant Colonel Dave Eastburn, a Pentagon spokesman, defended Washington, explaining that the nuclear-capable bombers conducted its routine explorations of the South China Sea. He said routine visits are part of Washington's commitment with its allies to enhance their interoperability in the region.
China, however, insisted that similar offensive actions from the United States in the past have what turned their military relations "sour" over the past years.
Meanwhile, the Philippines, which was known to be among the United States' long-time ally has been showing some signs of a change of heart under the Duterte administration.
On Sept. 28, Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua said that the Philippines and China are both keen to proceed with joint explorations in the South China Sea. The ambassador said discussions are still ongoing but talks are leaning towards more on positive results. For the joint exploration, the Philippines proposed a 60-40 sharing deal with Beijing.
Chinese President Xi Jinping also plans of visiting Manila by the end of 2018. This is set to become his first visit to the Philippines since the thawing of relations between Beijing and the Philippines under the regime of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.
