China’s Ministry of National Defense, asked on Thursday about US military aircraft entering the East China Sea air defense identification zone on August 23, said that China’s air force launched fighters to monitor the aircraft.

A B-52 Stratofortress launches at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev, on July 24, 2018. (Photo: nationalreview.com)

Wu Qian, the spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, told the press conference in Beijing that Chinese air force commanded fighters to take off for alert surveillance and to prepare for other responses to the B-52’s entry into China’s air defense identification zone.

Wu Qian, the spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense (Photo: mod.gov.cn)

According to a recent military statement from the US Indo-Pacific Command, US Air Force B-52 bombers in early August flew over the South China Sea in the vicinity of Japan, as part of a joint training mission with US Navy forces, news site sputniknews.com reported early this month. 

The Liberty Times reported Tuesday a strategic bomber entered areas of the East China Sea.

Photo: Twitter.com

Using data from Aircraft Spots, a site that tracks military air movements online, the report said two B-52H bombers left from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam on Tuesday and flew across the Bashi Channel to reach the South China Sea.

The bombers were accompanied by a KC-135 Stratotanker, a military aerial refueling aircraft.

The bombers were refueled during operation, according to the report.

A separate B-52H bomber left Guam for areas near Okinawa last Thursday, then entered China's air defense identification zone in the East China Sea, before returning to Guam, according to US news agency United Press International on August 28.