China said it is firmly against actions undermining its sovereignty and security interest, after confirming that United States conducted flight mission in Spratly Islands in West Philippine Sea November 8. “The Chinese side has learnt about that. I want to stress once again that the Chinese side respects the freedom of navigation and over-flight in the South China Sea to which all countries are entitled under international law.
However, the Chinese spokesperson added that China “stands firmly against any country’s attempt to breach international law and undermine China’s sovereignty and security interests under the pretext of navigation and over-flight freedom,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hong Lei said in a press briefing Friday, November 13.
In a press conference November 12, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said “my understanding is there was one B-52 flight, I’m not even sure the date on it, but there was an effort made by Chinese ground controllers to reach out to that aircraft and that aircraft continued its mission.”
“I know that we conduct B-52 flights in the international airspace in that part of the world all the time,” Cook added.
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