China responds to U.S. bombers flying over South China Sea

Beijing[China], July 7 : China has reacted after two U.S. long-range supersonic bombers flew over the disputed South China Sea, saying it opposes the use of military force by other countries as an excuse to harm Beijing's sovereignity.

"China resolutely opposes individual countries using the banner of freedom of navigation and over flight to flaunt military force and security," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Friday.

The statement came after the U.S. Air Force confirmed on Friday that two B-1B Lancer bombers from Guam had flown over the disputed waterway.

The tensions between China and U.S. increased even as Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to meet President Donald Trump on the sidelines of G-20 summit at Hamburg in Germany on Friday.

In retaliation, China has dispatched military vessels and fighter jets to warn off U.S. warship sailing near disputed, as reported by Russia Today. A few days earlier, a U.S. warship reportedly sailed near a disputed island in the South China Sea. The USS Stethem, a guided-missile destroyer, sailed within 12 nautical miles of Triton Island, part of the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea,a US defense department official said.

Source: ANI