Australian military plane flies over disputed South China Sea

An Australian military surveillance plane has flown near disputed areas of the South China Sea, it emerged Wednesday, with the crew heard warning China’s navy it was on a freedom of navigation mission.

Tensions in the region have mounted since China transformed reefs in the South China Sea into small islands capable of supporting military facilities, a move the United States says threatens free passage in an area through which one-third of the world’s oil passes.

US Air Force’s Australia bomber run a message: US official

With the support of Royal Australian Air Force ground forces, the two B-52s flew directly to Delamere bombing range in northern Australia to conduct a bombing run. After unloading their conventional bombs on the range, the two craft headed back to Barksdale Air Force Base in the US. It took 44 hours for the US Air Force to complete its “bomber assurance and deterrence” on July 1, according to Gertz.

B-1 bombers coming to Australia to deter Beijing’s South China Sea ambitions: US

 

The US military plans to station B-1 strategic bombers and surveillance aircraft in Australia as part of efforts to deter Chinese ambitions in the South China Sea, a senior US government official has revealed in comments later downplayed by the Australian government.

During testimony before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday, US Defence Department Assistant Secretary for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs David Shear announced that in addition to the movement of US Marine and Army units around the Western Pacific region, “we will be placing additional Air Force assets in Australia as well, including B-1 bombers and surveillance aircraft.”