US Sends Bombers to South China Sea in Warning to Beijing
February 5, 2025
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U.S. Air Force bombers joined Philippine fighter jets for joint training over the South China Sea amid a simmering territorial dispute with China.
Newsweek has contacted the Chinese Foreign Ministry with a written request for comment.
Why It Matters
The exercises took place less than a month after the U.S. sent supersonic B-1 bombers to Guam’s Andersen Air Force Base during heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula and ongoing disputes involving China and two U.S. security treaty allies, Japan and the Philippines.
The past two years have seen Chinese maritime forces steadily expanding their presence within the Philippines’ internationally recognized exclusive economic zone. China has responded forcefully to the Philippines’ resistance in contested waters, with tactics that include ramming, water cannons and blockades.
Two Philippine Air Force FA-50 fighter jets flying in formation with two B-1 bombers of the U.S. Pacific Air Forces during a joint air patrol and intercept exercise over the South China Sea on February… Two Philippine Air Force FA-50 fighter jets flying in formation with two B-1 bombers of the U.S. Pacific Air Forces during a joint air patrol and intercept exercise over the South China Sea on February 4.
Philippine Air Force
What To Know
Tuesday’s joint drills involved two B-1B bombers and three of the Philippines’ dozen FA-50s, the country’s main fighter jet and a combat-enhanced variant of the South Korean-made T-50.
The exercises, which took place over the Southeast Asian nation’s maritime zone, were focused on bolstering air domain awareness and coordination between the two air forces, including in combat capabilities, the Philippine Air Force said in a news release.
The U.S. and the Philippines, the oldest American ally in Asia, share a seven-decades-old Mutual Defense Treaty that both the Biden and Trump administrations have called ironclad.
The two countries jointly operate several military bases across the Philippines and regularly conduct naval and air exercises to improve interoperability.
However, the sometimes violent clashes with China, which on several occasions left Philippine service members injured, have raised questions over the prospect of drawing U.S. forces into a conflict with China. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has stressed that he does not seek escalation, but he has said the “willful” killing of a Philippine national would be a red line.
What People Are Saying
The U.S. Pacific Air Force wrote on social media on Tuesday: “U.S. Air Force B-1Bs and Philippine Air Force FA-50s flew in a joint air patrol and intercept exercise aimed to enhance our operational coordination, refine our tactical and operational strategies together, and maintain our air dominance and regional security in a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
The Philippine Air Force wrote: “By conducting these exercises, both air forces refined their tactical and operational strategies while working to meet shared air defense objectives and operational goals.”
What Happens Next
The tensions with China are a major factor behind the $35 billion military modernization program the Philippines is planning to carry out over the next decade.
On January 22, in one of his first international conversations as U.S. secretary of state, Marco Rubio spoke with Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo. According to a news release from the State Department, how to increase defense cooperation was one of the topics they discussed.
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